REESE  LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deceived 
Accession  No.  /  5~U  jy,  /       .   Cla&s  M 


STREET-RAILWAY 
ROADBED. 


BY 

MASON   D.   PRATT, 

Assoc.  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E., 
AND 

C.   A.   ALDEN, 

Assoc.  M.  Am.  Soc.   C.  E. 


NEW   YORK: 

JOHN   WILEY   &  SONS. 

LONDON  :    CHAPMAN  &  HALL,   LIMITED. 

1898. 


Copyrighted,  1898, 

BY  THE 

STREET   RAILWAY  PUBLISHING   COMPANY, 
NEW  YORK. 


ROBERT  DRUMMOND,   PRINTER,   NEW  YORK. 


PREFACE. 


THE  subject-matter  of  this  little  book  is  mostly  made  up 
from  contributions  of  the  authors  to  the  Street  Railway  Jour- 
nal, Engineering  News,  and  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.  Proceedings 
during  the  past  two  years.  Some  matter  has  been  added  and 
the  whole  brought  up  to  date.  It  is  not  supposed  to  cover  the 
entire  field  of  street-railway  track  construction,  but  to  present 
in  compact  form  the  main  point  of  the  best  practice  of  to-day. 
A  few  hints  are  given  which  we  hope  will  be  found  useful  to 
engineers,  managers,  and  trackmen. 

M.  D.  P.  AND  C.  A.  A. 

STEELTON,  PA.  ,  August  1898. 

iii 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY  TYPES  OF  RATLS 1-12 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  GIRDER  RAIL 13-18 

CHAPTER  III. 
WHAT  GOVERNS  THE  SHAPE  OF  RAILS 19-33 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  T  RAIL  ADAPTED  TO  STREET  RAILWAYS 34-42 

CHAPTER  V. 
TRACK  FASTENING  AND  JOINTS 43-59 

CHAPTER  VI. 
SPECIAL  WORK 60-71 

CHAPTER  VII. 
GUARD-RAILS 72-83 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
ADVANTAGES  OF  SPIRAL  CURVES  AND  TABLES  FOR  SAME.  . . .  84-110 

CHAPTER  IX. 
DESIGN  OF  SPECIAL  WORK 111-121 

CHAPTER  X. 
SURVEYS  AND  LAYING  OUT  WORK 122-125 

CHAPTER  XI. 
SPECIFICATIONS 126-131 

INDEX 133 

v 


UNIVERSITY 


STREET-RAILWAY  ROADBED. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER  RAILS. 

AN  esseutial  feature  of  a  well-equipped  street  railway  is  a 
good  track.  This  is  a  fact  that  has  been  brought  home  with 
force  to  most  managers  of  electric  street  railways  particularly. 
And  while  there  have  been  long  strides  in  the  direction  of 
better  construction  since  the  advent  of  rapid  transit  and  heavy 
cars,  we  can  hardly  say  that  perfection  has  been  attained  in 
this,  any  more  than  in  other  phases  of  our  mundane  existence. 

In  the  following  pages  it  is  the  intention  to  review  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past  fifteen  years — the  era  of  most  rapid  devel- 
opment—and to  bring  together  and  illustrate  the  various  types 
of  track  material  and  construction,  indicating  their  good  and 
bad  features. 

The  most  important  part  of  the  track  is  the  rail,  and  we 
will  therefore  first  follow  its  development. 

To  America — the  United  States — belongs  the  honor  of  in- 
troducing the  street  railway,  or  "  tramway,"  as  it  was  first 
called.  The  section  of  rail  adopted  on  the  first  line  laid,  that 
in  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City,  was  of  the  flat  type,  it 
being  nothing  more  than  a  simple  bar  of  iron,  with  a  groove 
formed  in  its  upper  surface  to  receive  the  flange  of  the  wheel. 
From  that  time  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  era,  a  period 
of  nearly  fifty  years,  this  type  of  rail,  though  modified  in 
every  conceivable  way,  was  adhered  to.  The  weight  ranged 
from  thirty  pounds  to  eighty  pounds  or  more  per  yard. 


2  STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 

In  nearly  every  modification  the  rail  was  dependent  on  some 
other  continuous  and  longitudinal  support  for  vertical  stiffness, 
in  which  respect  it  differed  materially  from  the  modern  mil. 
In  America  a  small  lip  or  flange  was  added  to  the  under  side 
to  keep  the  rail  from  slipping  off  the  stringer.  In  England  a 
second  flange  was  added,  and  the  two  increased  in  depth,  thus 
adding  materially  to  the  vertical  stiffness  of  the  rail.  This 
feature  probably  reached  its  greatest  development  in  the  sec- 
tion used  by  James  Livesey  in  Buenos  Ayres  (Figs.  1,  2).  His 
rail  had  a  total  depth  of  two  and  three-eighths  inches,  and  he 


FIG.  1.— THE  LIVESEY  RAIL. 


did  away  with  the  longitudinal  stringer,  supporting  the  rail 
on  cast-iron  chairs  placed  at  three  feet  centers.     There  were 


FIG.  2. — SECTION  OF  THE  LIVESEY  RAIL. 

other  systems  where  the  two  side  flanges  were  replaced  by  a 
single  flange  under  the  center  of  the  section. 

As  nearly  all  sections  were  used  with  wooden  stringers,  the 
fastenings  consisted  mainly  of  spikes,  staples,  or  lag-screws 
passing  through  the  rail.  The  joint  was  nothing  more  than  a 


EARLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER   RAILS. 


plain  flat  bar  of  iron,  three  or  four  inches  wide  and  eight  to 
ten  inches  long,  let  into  the  stringer,  and  gave  but  a  feeble 
support  to  the  loose  rail  ends.  The  flat,  or  tram,  rail  was 
lacking  in  vertical  strength  even  for  the  comparatively  light 
traffic  of  those  early  days.  Engineers  realized  this,  and  tried 
to  find  a  remedy  in  the  T  or  "  Vignole"  rail.  The  difficulty 
of  paving  to  it  and  of  maintaining  the  pavement  proved  too 
great  an  obstacle  to  its  general  use,  except  in  suburban  lines. 


FIG    3. 


FIG.  4. 


:  y     *     . 

.  —  2"  —  ; 

'       1 

T 

j|M 

FIG.  5. 


FIG.  6. 


STRINGER  RAIL  SECTIONS. 


Even  a  modification  of  it,  in  which  the  center  of  the  base  was 
placed  to  one  side  of  the  center  line  of  the  web,  thus  allowing 
the  paving-stones  to  rest  against  both  head  and  bottom  flange, 
though  tried,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  an  entire  success. 

Since  street-railway  tracks  were  laid  along  the  lines  of  other 
vehicular  traffic,  it  is  but  natural  that  this  traffic  should  seek 
to  follow  the  path  of  least  resistance — the  rails.  But  the  con- 
sequent wear  and  tear  on  the  adjacent  pavement  was  consider- 
able, and  the  effect  on  the  track  from  this  street  traffic  was 
probably  even' more  injurious  than  that  from  the  legitimate 
wear  of  the  cars. 

It  may  have  been  with  the  idea  of  self-protection,  or  it  may 
have  been  under  pressure  from  the  city  government,  that  the 
street  railways  of  Philadelphia  adopted  a  flat  tram  and  a  wide 
gage  for  the  accommodation  of  vehicles.  But  however  it  may 


4  STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 

have  been,  the  step  was  in  the  wrong  direction.  It  was  an  in- 
vitation to  greater  concentration  of  traffic  along  the  street 
railway,  the  difficulty  of  turning  out  from  the  track  almost 
compelling  vehicles  to  remain,  and  to  set  the  pace  of  any  car 
that  might  be  following — a  matter  of  very  serious  moment 
where  rapid  transit  is  concerned.  No  one  city  has  been 
brought  to  a  greater  realization  of  this  fact,  probably,  than 
the  one  that  introduced  it.  The  acceptance  of  this  condition 
has  been,  strange  to  say,  almost  universal  in  this  country,  and 
by  far  the  greater  number  of  rail  sections  are  found  to  have 
the  side  flange  or  tram  for  the  exclusive  use  of  vehicular  traf- 
fic. In  this,  as  in  many  other  matters,  our  practice  has  become 
directly  the  reverse  of  that  in  European  countries,  where  the 
use  of  a  grooved  rail  is  universal.  Such  a  rail  gives  an  un- 
broken surface  to  the  pavement,  thus  insuring  a  greater  free- 
dom of  movement  to  the  general  traffic,  with  less  obstruction 
to  the  cars. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  there  is  some  slight  ad- 
vantage to  the  street  railway  in  a  flanged  rail  over  the  grooved, 
as  often  made.  It  is  more  free  from  an  accumulation  of  dirt 
in  summer  and  ice  in  winter,  which  in  the  grooved  rail  ob- 
structs the  free  passage  of  the  wheel  flange  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  increase,  in  some  cases,  the  force  required  to  move  the  car 
as  much  as  fifty  per  cent.  In  cities  where  the  streets  are 
paved  with  Belgian  blocks,  brick,  or  asphalt,  and  are  kept  rea- 
sonably clean,  there  can  be  little  objection  to  the  grooved  rail. 
The  greater  freedom  of  movement  for  the  cars,  due  to  a  less 
obstructed  track,  and  the  longer  life  of  the  pavement,  with 
fewer  repairs,  consequent  on  the  distribution  of  the  street 
traffic  over  a  larger  area,  more  than  compensate  for  a  possible 
increase  in  motive  power. 

Before  proceeding  further  it  might  be  well  to  give  the 
nomenclature  of  the  various  parts  of  a  rail.  There  is  no 
little  confusion  in  these  terms  as  commonly  used,  and  we 
have  given  those  most  approved  by  general  usage.  The  list 
of  names  is  given  on  page  5. 

The  ordinary  sections  of  T  rail  are  not  well  adapted  for  use 
on  paved  streets,  but  considering  their  greater  stiffness  over 


EARLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER   RAILS. 


\ 


FIG.  7. 


FIG.  8. 


FIG.  9. 


B 

FIG.  11. 
DIAGRAMS  SHOWING  NAMES  OF  PARTS. 

#  Head 

6?  Groove. 

T  Tram,  or  tread. 

F  Flange,  any  projection  from  body  of  rail. 

B  Base,  or  lower  flange 

W  Web. 

E  Fillet,  or  rounding  of  any  corner. 

L  Gauge-line. 

N  Neck. 

C  Lip  or  flange. 

A  Flange-angle. 

A'  Guard-angle. 

C'  Joint-plate,  splice  bar,  channel-plate,  angle-plate,  or  fisli-plate. 
This  latter  term  properly  belongs  to  the  joint-plate  used  wilh  flat  rails. 

K  Track-bolt,   splice-bar  bolt. 

Bearing.     The  surface  of  contact  between  splice-bar  and  rail. 

8  Shoulder. 

0  Throat,  applied  to  guard  or  full-grooved  rails. 

Side-Bearing  and  center-bearing.  Terms  applied  to  rails  to  indicate 
position  of  head,  with  reference  to  center  line  of  rail.  Fig.  8  is  a 
centre- bearing,  all  others  are  side-bearing. 


6  STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 

the  old  flat  rails  and  the  superior  advantages  their  shape 
offers  for  making  joints  and  fastening  to  the  tie,  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  early  efforts  made  for  a  better  rail  for  street 
railways  were  in  the  direction  of  a  modified  form  of  this  rail. 
The  first  of  these  special  sections  actually  rolled  was  section 
No.  72  of  the  Cambria  Iron  Company,  of  Johnstown,  Pa. 
(Fig.  12),  and  was  made  in  1877  for  the  Clay  Street  Hill  line 


FIG.  12. — FIRST  GIRDER  RAIL  ACTUALLY  ROLLED. 

in  San  Francisco.  It  may  also  be  a  matter  of  interest  to 
know  that  it  was  made  of  steel — steel  rails  being  at  that  time 
by  no  means  common.  The  design  has  some  remarkably 
good  features — notably,  that  the  combined  width  of  the  head 
and  tram  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  base,  and  the  sides  are  in 
the  same  vertical  lines,  thus  affording  a  good  rest  for  paving- 
stones.  The  flange-angles,  except  that  under  the  head,  were 
small  (7  degs.),  less  than  the  common  practice  of  to-day. 
The  bearing-surface  for  fish-plates  is  ample.  The  head  is 
broad,  and  the  point  of  contact  between  wheel  and  rail  is 
brought  nearly  over  the  center  of  the  web.  The  upper  flange 
is  evidently  intended  only  to  act  in  connection  with  the 
pavement  to  form  a  groove  for  the  passage  of  the  wheel  flange, 
no  attempt  being  made  to  provide  a  track  for  street  vehicles 
— a  most  commendable  feature. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  there  are  but  few  great  achieve- 
ments of  science  or  invention  brought  to  public  notice  that 
have  not  been  discovered  or  invented  before,  and  the  fact 
comes  to  light  only  when  the  later  and  more  energetic  inventor 
makes  them  a  success.  Hence  the  old  saying,  "There  is  no 
new  thing  under  the  sun."  The  successful  inventor  is  none 
the  less  worthy  of  his  reward.  The  idea  of  the  "  girder  rail/' 


EARLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER   RAILS.  7 

so-called,  was  not  new  in  1877,  when  the  first  rail  was  rolled, 
for  we  find  on  the  Patent  Office  records  a  patent  granted  to 


Jfailroadffail 

.  Patented  My  io, 


7yitjis&/s'st/*' 


J/jt  OS^t^TH. 


t^/C 


FIG.  13. — BEERS'  EARLY  RAIL  PATENT. 

Sidney  A.  Beers,  in  1859,  on  "An  improvement  in  railroads 
for  streets,"  which  shows  the  girder  rail  almost  exactly  as  we 
know  it  to-day.  That  any  such  rail  was  ever  made  or  used  at 
that  time  does  not  appear,  but  the  inventor  certainly  antici- 
pated the  idea  of  our  girder  rails. 

It  is  to  a  later  and  very  energetic  inventor — A.  J.  Mox- 


8 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


ham,  of  the  Johnson  Company — that  we  owe,  in  a  large  mea- 
sure, the  successful  development  of  the  modern  girder  rail. 
His  first  efforts  in  rolling  such  a  rail  were  made  in  1881,  at 

UNITED  STATES  PATENT  OFFICE. 


SIDNEY  A.  BEERS,  OF  BROOKLYN,  NEW  YORK. 
IMPROVEMENT    IN    RAILROADS    FOR    STREETS. 


Specification  forming  part  of  Letters  Patent  No.  33,891,  dated  May  10, 1859. 


able  form  which  ina£  be  intended  for  or  ap- 
plied to  the  purpose  of  a  track  or  train  for 
the  accommodation  of  ordinary  vehicles. 

Letter  c  is  the  body  of  the  rail. 

"Letter  d  is  a  bracket  planted  upon  the  side 
of  the  rail  at  intervals  and  extending  from 
the  base  to  the  tram  to  give  additional  sup- 
port to  the  latter,  as  wellas  increased  strength 
to  the  rail  as  a  whole. 

Letter  e  is  a  base  of  any  convenient  width 
to  strengthen  the  rail  and  increase  the  bear- 
ing. 

What  I  claim  as  my  invention,  and  desire 
to  secure  by  Letters  Patent,  is— 

The  construction  of  uprightself-sustaining 
rails  of  .cast  or  other  iron,  with  car  and  ear- 
riage  track  combined,  as  set  forth  in  the  ac- 
companying specification  and  drawings  to 
be  laid  in  public  streets  and  highways  and 
for  no  other  purpose. 

SIDNEY  A.  BEERS. 


JOHN  C.  SMITH, 
JOSEPH  P. 


To  all  whom  it  may  concern: 

Be  it  known  that  I,  SIDNEY  A.  BEERS,  of 
the  city  of  Brooklyn,  in  the  county  of  Kings 
and. State  of  New  York,  have  invented  a  new 
and  useful  Improvement  in  the  Construction 
of  Railroads;  and  I  do  hereby  declare  that 
the  following  is  a  full  and  exact  description 
thereof,  reference  being  had  to  the  accompa- 
nying drawing,  making  part  of  this  specifi- 
tion,  and  to  the  letters  of  reference  marked 
thereon. 

The  nature  of  my  invention  consists  in  the 
construction  of  upright  self-sustaining  rails 
of  cast  or  other  iron,  with  the  head  or  track 
expanded  in  width  «o  as  to  form  a  car  and 
carriage  track  in  combination  of  such  width 
and  form  as  may  be  desirable  to  accommo- 
date buoh  purpose  when  laid  in  public  streets 
or  highways. 

The  figure  is  a  transverse  view  or  section  of 
the  rail  of  sufficient  depth  and  strength  to 
support  the  travel  without  the  aid  of  a  wooden 
string-piece. 

Letter  o  is  the  crown  or  car-track. 

Letter  b  is  the  carriage-track  of  any  desir- 

FIG.  13a.— BEERS'  EARLY  RAIL  PATENT. 

Birmingham,  Ala.,  afterward  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  later  at 
Johnstown,  Pa.,  where  in  1883  rails  of  this  type  were  first 
rolled  to  any  great  extent.  The  principal  early  sections  of 
the  Johnson  Company  are  shown  in  Figs.  14  to  26.  They  re- 
ceived the  nickname  of  "Jaybird"  rails.  It  was  thought, 
and  with  good  reason,  that  a  very  great  advance  had  been 
made  in  producing  a  rail  which  could  be  jointed  by  means  of 
splice-bars,  and'which,  being  in  the  form  of  a  beam  or  girder, 
would  have  sufficient  vertical  strength  in  itself. 

There  was  a  demand,  of  course,  for  a  grooved  rail,  and  we 
see  it  supplied  in  Figs.  22  and  25.  These  have,  in  place  of 
the  broad  base,  a  "bulb,"  providing  only  scanty  purchase  for 
the  fish-plates.  These  were  called  "  bulb  sections,"  and  were 
doubtless  the  result  of  efforts  to  decrease  the  difficulties  en- 
countered in  rolling  the  flanged  sections.  They  were  exceed- 


EAKLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER   RAILS. 


9 


ingly  unmechanical  in  design,  though  not  so  much  so  as  the 
"Wharton"  or  " Butterfly"  rail  (Figs.  27  and  28),  which  was 
devoid  of  either  flanges  or  bulb. 


FIG.  16. 


FIG.  18.  FIG.  19. 

EARLY  JOHNSON  RAILB. 

To  get  the  strongest  section  there  should  be  an  approximate 
equality  in  the  amount  of  metal  in  head  and  base,  which 
feature  very  few  of  these  early  sections  possessed. 


10 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


Although  the  necessity  for  stringers  was  thus  done  away 
with,  there  was  a  deficiency  in  height,  and  recourse  was  had 


FIG.  20. 


FIG   21. 


k 


FIG.  22. 


FIG.  23. 


FIG.  24. 


FIG.  25. 
EARLY  JOHNSON  RAILS. 


FIG.  26. 


to  "  chairs,"  which  were  made  either  by  forging  from  flat 
steel  bars  or  of  cast  iron,  to  make  the  construction  suitable  for 
paving. 


EARLY   TYPES   OF   GIRDER   RAILS. 


11 


A  noticeable  feature  of  these  early  Johnson  sections  is  the 
shoulder  under  the  head  on  the  side-bearing  rails.  Its  use 
enabled  both  splice-bars  to  be  alike,  thus  effecting  a  slight 
economy  in  manufacture.  It  increased  the  thickness  of  the 
neck,  and  apparently  added  not  a  little  to  the  strength  of  the 


FIG.  27.  FIG.  28. 

WHARTON  "BUTTERFLY"  RAILS. 

section  and  some  additional  wear.  But  possibly  the  main 
reason  was  the  introduction  of  a  distinctive  feature  which 
would  be  of  value  in  developing  patents.  So  energetic  was 
this  company  in  obtaining  patents  and  aggressive  in  maintain- 
ing them,  that  it  practically  had  a  monopoly  of  the  girder-rail 
business  for  several  years.  The  attractive  profits,  however, 
were  too  great,  and  other  manufacturers  soon  entered  the  field, 
the  principal  one  being  William  Wharton,  Jr.,  &  Company 
of  Philadelphia,  whom  we  find  offering  a  series  of  rails, 
without  bottom  flanges  or  base,  and  later  the  Lewis  &  Fowler 
Company  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  with  its  "box-girder"  rail 
(Figs.  29,  30,  31).  This  latter  was  the  old  double-flanged  rail 
of  Livesey,  brought  to  a  greater  refinement  of  design.  Then 
came  in  Gibbon  with  his  "duplex"  rail  (Figs.  32,  33).  The 
head  and  tram  of  this  rail  are  in  separate  parts,  and  each  is 
provided  with  a  vertical  flange  or  web,  which  was,  like  the 
Wharton  rail,  devoid  of  lower  flanges.  All  of  these  sections,, 
while  proving  good  substitutes  for  the  old  tram-rails  when 
used  on  horse-car  lines,  had  to  succumb  to  the  onslaught  of 
the  electric  motor.  Their  weak  points  were  lack  of  vertical 
strength  and  poor  joints — the  fishing  space  being  so  narrow 
that  the  two  joint-plates  together  were  far  from  having  the- 


12 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


same  strength  as  the  rails,  and  the  meager  bearing  allowed 
them   soon   to  wear   loose.     The  multiplicity  of  parts   also 


at 

4__Ji 


FIG.  29. 


n 


frJL^ 


FIG.  30.  FIG.  81. 

LEWIS  &  FOWLER  "Box  GIRDER"  RAIL. 


4k' 

^\ 

4 

... 
fi" 

••  i 

^\ 

f 

FIG.  32.  FIG.  33. 

GIBBON  DUPLEX  RAIL. 

involved  in  the  use  of  chairs  was  a  bad  feature.     The  tendency 
was  constantly  toward  deeper,  stiffer,  and  heavier  sections. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

THE    DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   GIRDER-RAIL. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  present  decade  the  six  and  seven 
inch  sections  shown  in  Figs.  35  to  48  were  the  most 
approved  rails  in  use,  and  indeed  the  seven-inch  sections  con- 
tinue to  be  largely  used  on  electric  roads  laid  in  asphalt  or 


Street  Ry.Jourual 

FIG.  34. — THE  CRIMMINS  RAIL. 

brick  pavements,  or  even  in  shallow  Belgian-block  pavements 
where  the  ties  are  embedded  in  concrete.  The  latter  con- 
struction, while  not  common  in  this  country,  is  coming  more 
into  vogue.  These  seven-inch  sections  are  also  the  ones  most 
used  on  cable  and  conduit  electric  roads,  where  the  rail  is 
supported  on  cast-iron  yokes  and  the  pavement  rests  on  a  con- 
crete base.  Fig.  34  shows  a  seven-inch  rail  adopted  in  1895 
by  the  Metropolitan  Street  Eailway  Company  of  New  York 

13 


14 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


6* 

c 


FIG.  35. 


FIG.  3(5. 


FIG.  37. 


FIG.  38. 


FIG.  39. 


5'- 


FIG.  40. 


FIG.  41. 
LATER  GIRDER-RAIL  SECTIONS. 


THE   DEVELOPMEBT   OF   THE    GIRDER-RAIL.  15 


FIG.  46.  FIG.  47. 

LATER  GIRDER-RAIL  SECTIONS. 


16 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


City  for  use  on  its  lines,  most  of  which  will  eventually  be 
cable  or  conduit  electric.  It  is  peculiar  in  having  an  extended 
lip  attached  to  the  guard,  the  idea  of  which  is  that  it  will 
carry  the  street  traffic  which  tracks  along  the  rails,  and  thus 
decrease  the  wear  to  some  extent  on  the  adjacent  pavement. 
It  was  designed  by  Mr.  John  D.  Crimmins,  the  builder  of  the 
Broadway  Cable  and  other  lines  of  the  Metropolitan  Street 
Railway  Company. 

Fig.  49  shows  the  rail  used  on  the  new  conduit  electric  roads 


FIG.  49. — WASHINGTON  RAIL. 

in  Washington,  where  the  streets  are  paved  entirely  with  as- 
phalt. 

There  is  a  very  serious  objection  to  these  seven-inch  rails  on 
roads  laid  in  granite-block  pavement  on  an  ordinary  sand  base 
in  that  the  ties,  having  little  or  no  sand  over  them,  form  a 
solid  bed  for  the  pavement,  while  that  portion  between  the 
ties,  having  a  more  yielding  foundation,  sinks,  and  the  track 
soon  presents  the  appearance  of  a  "corduroy"  road.  To 
overcome  this  defect  and  to  meet  the  conditions  where  even 
heavier  pavement  is  laid,  still  deeper  rails  were  required.  Solid 
rails  nine  and  ten  inches  high  were  suggested  and  called  for, 
but  it  was  not  until  about  six  years  ago  that  they  were  pro- 
duced. Their  manufacture  presented  many  difficulties,  and 
the  rail-makers  met  with  many  failures  in  attempting  to  roll 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   GIRDER-RAIL. 


17 


them.  Much  time,  thought,  and  money  have  been  expended 
in  experiments,  with  the  result  that  to-day  these  rails  are 
placed  on  the  market  at  a  price  but  slightly  in  advance  of  or- 
dinary T  rails.  So  great  seemed  to  be  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  at  first  that  many  devices  were  brought  forth  to  accomplish 
the  purpose  without  making  a  solid  rail.  The  most  ingenious 
of  these  was  the  so-called  "  electric  rail/'  which  consisted  of  an 
ordinary  "  bulb  "section  and  a  J_-shaped  base  rolled  separately, 


FIG.  50. — GROOVED  RAIL  WITH  ELECTRICALLY  WELDED  FEET. 

the  latter  being  cut  into  short  sections  of  ^from  four  to  eight 
or  nine  inches  and  electrically  welded  to  the  head  portion  at 
intervals  suited  to  the  tie  spacing.  By  thus  rolling  the  rail 
in  two  separate  parts  a  very  broad  base  could  be  produced,  and 
a  large  economy  effected  in  the  omission  of  the  entire  lower  half 
of  the  rail  between  the  ties.  This  rail  was  fully  developed 
and  a  quantity  of  it  laid,  but  the  inconveniences  of  handling 
and  laying  it  proved  to  be  many  and  great.  During  the  two 
years  following  its  introduction  a  reduction  in  the  price  of 
steel  rails  of  nearly  fifty  per  cent  took  place,  and  rapid  strides 
were  made  in  the  art  of  rolling  solid,  deep  sections,  which,  to- 


18 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


gether  with  the  difficulties  above  mentioned,  rendered  it  a 
commercial  as  well  as  a  practical  failure. 

Many  other  schemes  for  the  production  of  a  deep  construc- 
tion without  resorting  to  the  solid  rail  have  been  devised. 
The  idea  of  a  combination  rail — the  head  portion  to  be  re- 
newable—has been  worked  out  (on  paper)  in  many  different 
ways.  But  no  such  schemes  which  have  been  offered  may  be 
considered  practical  in  the  light  of  experience.  In  the  first 
place  they  are  objectionable  on  account  of  multiplicity  of 


FIG.  51.— SIDE-BEARING  RAIL  WITH  ELECTRICALLY  WELDED  FEET. 

parts — a  condition  which  should  be  avoided,  in  track  work 
particularly.  In  the  second  place  the  renewable  feature — their 
fundamental  idea — is  valueless,  from  the  fact  that  the  perma- 
nent parts  become  so  much  worn  that  it  is  impossible  to  secure 
a  good  fit  on  renewing  the  wearing  portion.  Then,  again,  the 
cost  of  this  renewal  would  probably  amount  to  as  much  as  the 
laying  of  an  entirely  new  track.  For  these  reasons  no  other 
rails  than  the  solid,  deep  sections  are  seriously  considered  to- 
day. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHAT   GOVERNS   THE   SHAPE   OF   BAILS? 

THER"E  is  a  wide  variation  in  ideas  as  to  the  proper  form 
these  deep  rails  should  have,  as  a  glance  at  the  illustrations 
will  show.  Of  course,  as  explained  before,  local  conditions 
govern  to  a  considerable  extent.  Some  city  governments 
specify  a  full,  narrow  groove;  others  a  broad,  flat  tram;  while 


FIG.  52.  FIG.  53. 

10  AND  10i  INCH  RAILS. 

those  who  leave  the  matter  to  the  railroad  companies  find  rails 
laid  in  their  streets  having  all  variations  between  the  two. 
The  question  as  to  what  is  the  proper  form  for  the  exposed 

19 


20 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


upper  surface  of  the  rail  is  one  to  be  carefully  considered  in 
all  its  relations  to  motive  power,  density  and  character  of  street 
traffic,  pavement,  etc.  When  these  circumstances  are  consid- 
ered, no  one  can  say  that  any  one  section  is  the  proper  one 
for  all  cities,  or  even  for  all  the  lines  in  any  one  city. 

We  will  first  consider  the  various  influences  which  should 
determine  the  form  of  that  portion  of  the  rail  exposed  to  wear, 
as  follows : 

I.  Motive  Power. — This  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : 
that  which  is  applied  to  the  axles,  as  with  the  trolley  electric 


FIG.  54.— CENTER  BEARING 
RAIL. 


FIG.  55.— NEW  ORLEANS  RAIL. 


system,  together  with  gas,  compressed  air,  or  other  similar 
motors ;  and  that  which  is  applied  externally,  as  in  cable  or 
horse  traction.  With  the  former  it  is  far  more  important  to 
have  a  rail  which  shall  be  free  from  dirt.  Particularly  is  this 
so  with  electric  roads  using  the  rails  for  a  current  conductor, 
and  some  form  of  half -grooved  or  tram  rail  should  be  selected. 
A  center-bearing  rail  is  by  far  the  most  desirable,  if  only  the 
interests  of  the  railroad  are  considered  ;  but  there  has  been 
a  strong  and  growing  dislike  to  it  on  the  part  of  the  public, 
owing  to  the  two  grooves  formed  in  the  pavement  along 


WHAT   GOVERNS   THE    SHAPE   OF   RAILS  ? 


21 


each  rail,  and  which  render  it  doubly  annoying  to  carriage 
traffic.  There  are  few  cities  to-day  that  permit  its  use. 
A  rail  which  approaches  the  center- bearing  rail  in  freedom 
from  dirt  is  shown  in  Fig.  55,  the  standard  section  adopted 
by  the  New  Orleans  Traction  Company. 

With  externally  applied  power  it  is  not  so  important, 
though  still  desirable,  to  have  the  rail  as  free  from  dirt  as  in 
the  former  case,  for,  under  like  conditions,  the  resistances 
are  not  so  great,  and  a  full-grooved  rail  may  be  used. 

II.  Street  Traffic.— This  can  have  but  little  influence  in 
towns  where  it  is  light  and  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  but 
in  cities  where  it  is  more  dense  and  heavier  it  must  be  con- 
sidered. The  ideal  condition  obtains,  as  before  stated,  where 


FIG.  56.  FIG.  57. 

SECTIONS  SHOWING  WEAR  OF  RAILS. 


FIG.  58. 


the  surface  of  the  street  presents  an  unbroken  face.  This  is 
to  be  had  only  with  a  full-grooved  rail.  With  any  other  sec- 
tion there  is  a  guiding  shoulder  for  wagon-wheels,  compelling 
them  to  follow  the  track.  The  next  best  section  is  of  the 
half-grooved  type,  in  which  this  shoulder  is  a  minimum,  and 
offers  less  obstruction  to  vehicles  turning  out.  The  guard  or 
lip  should  be  made  substantial  to  resist  bending  as  well  as 
wear.  The  full  flat  tram  is  very  objectionable  from  the 
street-traffic  point  of  view,  for  while  it  offers  a  smooth,  easy 
track  to  travel  on,  it  is  most  severe  on  a  vehicle  when  turn- 
ing off. 


22  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

The  width  of  tires  on  light  carriages  is  about  one  and  one- 
quarter  inches,  and  on  deli  very- wagons  about  one  and  one- 
half  inches  ;  trucks  and  heavy  wagons  have  much  wider  tires. 
The  usual  thickness  of  flanges  on  street-car  wheels  is  one  inch, 
and  as  it  is  customary  to  place  the  wheels  on  the  axles  to  gage 
about  one-quarter  inch  less  than  the  track,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  least  width  the  full  groove  in  a  rail  may  have  is  one 
and  one-eighth  inches.  This  is  less  than  light  carriage  tires, 
and  is  therefore  safe  for  all  vehicles.  Indeed,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  it  is  only  the  heavy  wagons  and  trucks  that  fol- 
low the  street-car  tracks  to  any  great  extent,  it  would  be 
perfectly  safe  to  make  the  groove  one  and  one-quarter  inches 
wide.  This  gives  the  car-wheel  flanges  greater  freedom  of 
movement  and  offers  less  resistance.  Now,  if  a  rail  is  used 
having  a  groove  not  wider  than  one  and  one-quarter  inches  and 
the  guard  brought  up  level  with  the  head,  and  the  pavement 
laid  on  a  solid  foundation  with  its  top  surface  level  with  the 
head  of  the  rail,  it  will  be  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  wagon 
traffic  to  keep  to  the  car  tracks,  and  the  wear  will  be  distrib- 
uted over  the  whole  surface  of  the  street,  thus  making  the 
life  of  the  pavement  so  much  greater. 

While  it  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  ideal 
shape  for  the  top  surface  of  the  rail  is  the  full  groove  (Figs.  35 
and  49),  no  city  which  does  not  specify  a  first-class  pavement 
and  does  not  keep  its  streets  clean  should  compel  its  street 
railways  to  lay  such  a  rail,  for  dirt  soon  fills  the  groove,  render- 
ing the  operation  of  cars  very  much  more  difficult,  if  not 
dangerous. 

III.  Pavement. — With  asphalt  there  seems  to  be  but  one 
section — the  full-grooved.  Any  other  which  attracts  street 
vehicles  is  detrimental,  in  that  this  pavement  is  more  yielding 
to  a  concentrated  traffic  than  any,  and  is  the  most  costly  to 
repair.  Broad  tram  rails  have  been  laid  with  this  pavement, 
and  they  are  as  much  out  of  place  as  a  square  peg  in  a 
round  hole.  They  practically  defeat  the  purpose  for  which 
the  fine  pavement  was  laid,  namely,  a  smooth  street.  The 
question  as  to  whether  a  grooved  rail  should  be  laid  in  granite 
pavements  is  one  to  be  settled  by  the  probability  of  the  streets 


WHAT   GOVERNS  THE   SHAPE   OF   RAILS  ?  23 

being  kept   clean,    as  well  as  by  the   other  considerations 
mentioned  above. 

The  depth  of  the  rail  is  also  governed  to  some  extent  by  the 
character  of  the  pavement.  There  is  ample  stiffness  and 
strength  in  a  seven-inch  rail  for  all  ordinary  traffic,  and  there 


FIG.  59.  FIG.  60. 

SECTIONS  SHOWING  WEAR  OF  RAILS. 

is  no  occasion  for  using  any  deeper  section  in  macadam  or 
brick  pavement.  Nor  does  asphalt  require  a  deeper  section, 
except  in  the  cities  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line.  It  has 
been  found  that  in  these  Northern  cities  with  their  cold  win- 
ters the  jar  of  traffic  on  the  rails  breaks  up  the  asphalt  when 
laid  directly  against  the  rail.  As  a  precaution  against  this 
action  it  is  customary  to  lay  a  line  of  "  toothing  "  along  each 
side  of  each  rail,  the  toothing  consisting  of  an  alternate 
header  and  stretcher  of  granite  blocks.  This,  as  shown  pre- 
viously, requires  rails  of  about  nine  inches  depth. 

In  macadam  pavements  T  rails  are  without  doubt  the 
most  satisfactory  sections,  for  the  reason  that  the  street  traffic 
on  macadamized  streets  is  light,  and  usually  follows  its  own 
tracks  at  the  sides  of  the  street.  A  grooved  rail  would  be  out 
of  the  question  on  account  of  the  dirt,  and  a  tram  girder  rail 
would  only  attract,  the  street  traffic,  and  ruts  would  rapidly 
form  along  the  rails. 

IV.  Wear. — Now  that  we  have  in  the  deep  sections,  rails 
that  will  make  when  properly  laid,  a  most  substantial  track, 
the  question  of  wear  becomes  of  even  more  importance  than 


24 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


formerly.  Indeed  so  substantial  may  the  track  now  be  made 
in  other  respects  that  its  life  is  determined  almost  entirely  by 
the  amount  of  abrasion  the  rails  will  withstand,  and  with  this 
the  form  of  the  rail  head  has  something  to  do,  as  well  as  the 
material  of  which  it  is  made.  In  this  connection  are  shown 
five  sections  of  worn  rails,  Figs.  56  to  60.  They  were  taken 


FIG.  62. 


FIG.  63.  FIG.  64. 

MODERN  RAIL  SECTIONS. 

twelve  or  fourteen  inches  from  the  ends.     In  the  last  four  are 
shown,  in  the  lighter  lines,  the   original  sections  as  rolled. 


WHAT   GOVERNS   THE   SHAPE   OF    RAILS? 


25 


The  actual  amount  of  metal  lost  is  but  a  small  percentage  of 
the  whole  section,  but  there  is  in  each  case,  and  in  one  case 
particularly,  a  noticeable  amount  of  distortion  of  the  section 
which  must  have  come  from  a  very  heavy  vehicular  traffic. 
These  rails  were  removed  because  of  their  inability  to  stand 
up  under  this,  as  well  as  the  car  traffic,  and  the  wear  shown 
must  not  be  taken  as  indicative  of  the  life  of  heavier  and 


FIG.  65. 


FIG.  66. 


MODERN  RAIL  SECTIONS. 


deeper  sections  now  being  laid — exception  possibly  being  made 
to  the  section,  Fig.  60,  which  is  given  here  to  show  to  what 
extent  rails  are  sometimes  allowed  to  wear.  This  rail  had 
about  reached  the  end  of  its  usefulness  when  removed.  An- 
other noticeable  feature  in  four  out  of  five  of  these  worn 
sections,  and  one  which  will  be  seen  in  practically  all  worn 
street-railway  rails,  is  the  decided  inclination  of  the  top  sur- 
face of  the  head  from  the  gage  line  up.  This,  no  doubt,  comes 
from  the  coning  of  the  wheels.  The  majority  of  rails  hereto- 
fore made  have  either  been  rolled  flat  on  the  head  or  with  an 
inclination  in  the  opposite  direction,  which  has  been  given 
them  to  facilitate  rolling.  That  it  is  not  impossible  to  make 


26 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


rails  having  an  inward  slope  to  the  head  will  be  seen  by  a 
glance  at  some  of  the  sections  shown  in  connection  with  this 
and  the  previous  chapter.  Aside  from  all  questions  of  better 
electrical  contact,  better  traction,  etc.,  to  be  obtained  from  a 
full  bearing  for  the  wheel  tread,  the  rail  head  is  bound  to 
assume  this  shape  early  in  its  career,  and  if  made  so  in  the 
first  place  it  is  manifest  that  the  life  of  the  rail  is  increased 
thereb}''.  That  this  is  coming  to  be  considered  the  proper 
form,  the  increasing  number  of  sections  to  which  this  feature 
is  being  applied  would  seem  to  indicate. 

In  this  connection  the  following  remarks  made  by  the  writer 
before  the  Am.  Soc.  of  Civil  Engineers  *  are  quite  pertinent  : 

"  In  studying  the  subject  of  the  best  form  of  rail  and  track 
construction  for  city  streets  where  traffic  is  heavy,  some  aid 
may  be  had  by  looking  carefully  into  the  existing  conditions, 
and  seeing  what  effect  the  several  sections  of  rail  have  had  on 
the  pavements  as  laid.  This  may  lead  to  modifications  of  the 
sections  which  will  tend  to  prevent  any  injurious  effects. 

"  Fig.  67  shows  the  rail  of  the  old  horse-car  tracks  in  New 
York  City,  which  have  by  far  the  greatest  mileage  to-day. 


FIG.  67. — OLD  HORSE-CAR  RAIL  ON  STRINGER. 

The  time  for  their  reconstruction  is  rapidly  approaching,  as 
New  York  is  far  behind  all  the  other  large  cities  in  the  matter 
of  improved  traction.  The  drawing  very  clearly  shows  the 
objectionable  features  when  the  pavement  is  laid  to  line  with 
the  top  surface  of  the  rail.  In  many  cases  the  pavements 
have  gone  down,  and  the  entire  head  of  the  rail  projects 
above  the  general  street  surface. 

*  Vol.  xxxvii.,  Transactions  Am.  Soc.  C.  E. 


WHAT   GOVERNS   THE   SHAPE    OF   BAILS?  27 

"  Fig.  68  is  a  partial  section  of  the  Broadway  cable  road.  It 
is  not  peculiar  to  any  one  portion  of  the  road,  but  fairly  rep- 
resents the  conditions  for  the  major  part  of  its  length.  The 
paving-blocks  rest  on  a  concrete  bed,  with  but  an  inch  of  sand 
between,  giving  a  practically  unyielding  bed.  The  illustration 
clearly  shows  the  adhesion  to  an  old  practice  in  paving,  where 


FIG.  68. — HALF  SECTION  OF  THE  BROADWAY  CABLE  ROAD. 

the  foundation  was  not  so  well  made  and  was  of  a  more  yielding 
nature  ;  reference  is  made  to  the  height  of  the  paving-blocks 
above  the  head  of  the  rail.  In  pavements  as  ordinarily  laid 
it  is  expected  that  they  will  sink  more  or  less  under  the  action 
of  traffic  and  weather,  and  it  was  customary  to  set  the  stones 
-J  in.  or  more  above  the  rail.  The  wisdom  of  so  doing  was 
realized  when  the  blocks  did  sink,  often  not  stopping  at  the 
rail  level.  This  will  be  found  to  be  the  case  with  many  of  the 
old  tracks,  like  Fig.  67,  which  shows  the  pavement  in  its  best 


me 

FIG.  69.— HALF  SECTION  OF  THE  THIRD  AVENUE  CABLE  ROAD. 

condition.  In  the  case  of  the  Broadway  road,  and  all  others 
where  there  is  a  concrete  base,  the  pavement  has  remained 
just  where  it  was  put,  with  the  result  that  there  is  a  deep  rut 
along  each  line  of  rails,  the  bottom  of  which  is  on  a  level  with 
the  rail  head  or  tram.  The  same  is  true  of  the  track  of  the 
Third  Avenue  cable  road,  Fig.  69,  and  will  be  so  of  the  tracks 


28 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


now  being  laid  in  First  Avenue  in  asphalt  with  granite  tooth- 
ing block,  Fig.  70. 


FIGS.  70,  71.— RAILS  LAID  IN  ASPHALT  IN  NEW  YORK. 

"  Fig.  71  shows  part  of  a  track  laid  with  the  improved  rail 
mentioned  by  Mr.  North,  in  asphalt  pavement  in  One  Hun- 
dred and  Sixth  Street.  This  is  a  very  broad  street ;  no  cars 
have  ever  run  on  these  tracks,  and  the  street  traffic  is  very 
light,  so  there  is  no  guide  as  to  what  the  results  would  have 
been  under  the  conditions  existing  in  most  of  the  streets  in 
the  city. 

"  Fig.  72  shows  a  part  of  a  cable  track  in  asphalt  pavement 
in  One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth  Street.  The  hollow  on  the 


FIG.  72.— SECTION  OF  CABLE  TRACK  IN  ASPHALT  PAVEMENT. 

inside  of  each  track  rail  shows  where  the  wear,  due  to  vehicu- 
lar traffic,  has  been  concentrated. 

"  It  will  be  admitted,  of  course,  that  the  most  desirable  con- 
dition for  the  surface  of  a  street  is  one  uninterrupted  by  ruts, 
grooves,  or  other  irregularities.  It  will  also  probably  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  greatest  life  will  be  had  from  a  pavement 
where  the  traffic  is  distributed  over  its  entire  surface,  and  that 
the  pavement  will  suffer  most  when  the  traffic  is  concentrated 
along  certain  portions.  The  greatest  damage  is  done  to  pave- 
ments by  trucks  and  other  heavy  vehicles,  and  it  is  they  that 
are  constantly  seeking  the  path  of  least  resistance.  This  is, 


WHAT   GOVERNS   THE   SHAPE   OF   RAILS  ?  29 

of  course,  along  the  rails;  and  where  the  rail  is  of  such  form 
that  the  tram  or  guard  portion  is  lower  than  the  head,  no 
matter  how  little,  there  is  a  guiding  shoulder  which  keeps  the 
wheels  in  the  tracks  without  any  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
driver.  Comparatively  few  of  the  heavy  trucks  and  drays 
have  the  same  gage  of  wheels  as  the  railway  tracks  ;  but  this 
in  no  way  prevents  their  following  the  tracks,  for  one  wheel 
will  ride  on  the  shelf  of  the  rail,  while  the  other  follows  a  par- 
allel path  just  outside  the  other  rail.  As  there  are  many 
trucks  of  each  class,  it  will  be  found  that  this  concentration  of 
wear  has  its  effect  in  an  appreciable  trough  along  the  outer 
rail  and  about  6  to  10  inches  away. 

"  The  head  of  a  perfect  rail  should  be  level,  with  a  groove 
or  flangeway  only  sufficiently  large  to  pass  the  wheel  flange 
freely,  and  of  such  shape  that  dirt,  ice,  and  similar  obstruc- 
tions will  be  easily  worked  out  by  the  flanges  themselves. 
The  groove  in  the  rails  (Figs.  34  and  75)  does  this  admirably. 
Fig.  49  is  the  section  of  rail  adopted  in  Washington,  D.  0., 
where  all  the  streets  are  paved  with  asphalt  and  kept  clean. 
The  wheel  flanges  are  necessarily  smaller  than  those  in  gen- 
eral use  elsewhere." 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  proper  form  for  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  rail,  attention  should  be  called  to  its  importance 
in  relation  to  the  form  and  size  of  the  wheel  flange  and  tread. 
The  variety  in  design  of  wheels  is  as  great  as  in  rail  sections 
themselves — a  fact  which  is  of  great  annoyance  to  the  manu- 
facturer of  special  work,  though  not  of  great  importance  in 
connection  with  straight  track,  except  so  far  as  the  depth  of 
the  flange  is  concerned.  The  difference  between  the  depth  of 
flange  and  the  height  of  rail  head  above  the  tram  or  bottom 
of  groove  represents,  theoretically,  the  amount  of  wear  possi- 
ble before  the  rail  must  come  up.  Flanges  are  made  from  five- 
eighths  of  an  inch  to  one  inch  deep — generally  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch;  and  since  this  vertical  flange  space  in  the 
rails  varies  from  one  inch  to  one  and  one-quarter  inches,  the 
amount  of  wear  available  is  from  nothing  to  five-eighths  of  an 
inch,  depending  on  which  combination  of  wheel  flange  and 
rail  section  come  together. 


30  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

The  question  as  to  just  what  the  life  of  a  rail  is  when  this 
matter  of  wear  is  considered  is  a  most  interesting  one.  Man- 
ifestly it  must  be  gaged  first  by  the  number  of  cars  which 
pass  over  it,  not  by  years.  The  other  influences  are  grades, 
curvature,  motive  power,  character  of  streets — clean  or  dirty, 
and  the  amount  of  street  traffic.  The  rail  shown  in  Fig.  60 
had  carried  about  one  million  cars;  it  was  on  a  heavy  up  grade 
and  in  a  busy  street.  The  rail  on  the  parallel  track  carrying  the 
downhill  traffic,  which  was  equal  to  the  uphill,  showed  but  half 
the  wear,  and  was  in  fairly  good  condition  when  the  worn-out 
section  was  removed.  There  are  points  in  Boston  where  the 
rail  heads  are  being  worn  down  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
quarter  of  an  inch  per  year.  On  the  Broadway  Cable  road  in 
New  York  the  total  wear  since  the  rails  were  laid  (1892)  is 
not  much  over  one  quarter  of  an  inch.  The  amount  of  traffic 
in  these  two  cases  is  not  materially  different,  but  the  cause  for 
the  great  difference  in  wear  must  be  found  in  the  motive 
power — the  Boston  cars  are  self-propelled,  the  cable  cars  are 
externally  propelled.  The  difference  in  weight  between  the 
cable  and  electric  cars  no  doubt  has  some  influence  also.  If 
electric  cars  were  placed  on  the  Broadway  road  to-day  it  would 
be  a  safe  prediction  that  new  rails  would  have  to  be  laid  within 
a  year. 

And  now  what  is  the  proper  shape  for  the  lower  portion  of 
our  rail — that  portion  which  is  not  exposed,  but  which  has  to 
withstand  all  the  shocks  and  strains  produced  by  the  traffic 
over  and  upon  its  head  ?  It  mast  have  sufficient  area  of 
head  to  allow  for  wear  and  be  of  a  form  to  remain  rigid  and 
unyielding  under  the  strains  of  traffic  ;  it  must  have  a  broad 
base  to  provide  ample  bearing  on  the  tie.  All  of  these  con- 
ditions are  fully  met  in  the  deep  sections  shown.  The  web 
and  bottom  flanges  are  as  thin  as  it  is  practical  to  roll  them, 
and  yet  are  of  ample  strength.  The  surfaces  against  which 
the  flanges  of  the  channel  plates  find  a  bearing  have  a  uniform 
inclination — a  necessary  condition  in  manufacture  and  one 
equally  necessary  in  securing  a  proper  fit  for  the  joint-plates. 
There  is  little  room  for  variation  in  the  form  of  this  portion 
of  the  rail.  v,The  distinctive  feature  of  the  early  Johnson 


WHAT   GOVERNS  THE   SHAPE   OF   RAILS? 


31 


rails — the  shoulder  under  the  head — has  disappeared,  it  being 
an  insurmountable  obstacle  in  the  way  of  securing  a  good 
joint-plate  fit  and  a  broad  bearing  at  that  point. 

The  10-in.  and  10^-in.  rails  shown  (Figs.  53  and  54)  were 
among  the   earliest  designs   of   deep  girder   rails,  but  were 


ies£ 


9" 


FIG.  73.  FIG.  74. 

MODERN  RAIL  SECTIONS. 

never  rolled.  The  7-in.,  8J-in.  and  9-in.  rails  are  all  stand- 
ards. Fig.  74  is  the  standard  of  the  West  End  Street  Rail- 
way Company,  of  Boston — the  form  of  head  being  designed 
by  the  former  Commissioner  of  Streets,  Mr.  Carter.  The 
joint  shown  on  this  section  is  peculiar  in  having  a  rib  ex- 
tending along  the  center  of  the  joint-plate,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide a  bearing  and  to  prevent  the  plate  from  being  drawn  in 
against  the  rail,  whereby  the  fit  of  the  joint  is  destroyed. 
This  form  of  joint  was  designed  by  the  writer  over  six  years 
ago,  when  deep  rails  were  introduced,  and  it  is  now  coming 
into  general  use. 

Since  the  above  was  written  there  have  been  added  several 
new  sections  to  our  collection,  three  of  which  are  shown  here 
because  they  possess  some  interesting  improvements  over 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


FIG.  75. — STANDARD  BAIL  OP  METROPOLITAN  STREET  RAILWAY, 
NEW  YORK. 


l      ••' 


r 2*----. 


" 


FIG.  76.  FIG.  77. 

STANDARD  RAILS  OF  BROOKLYN  HEIGHTS  RAILROAD. 


WHAT   GOVERNS   THE   SHAPE   OF   KAILS?  33 

former  practice.  Section  Fig.  75  is  the  present  standard  of 
the  Metropolitan  Street  Eailway  Company,  of  New  York,  and 
is  used  on  all  of  their  new  conduit  electric  lines.  It  retains 
the  lines  of  the  head  and  tram  of  their  seven-inch  section 
shown  on  page  13,  except  that  the  tram  is  not  quite  so  wide 
and  is  dropped  one-eighth  of  an  inch  below  the  head.  The 
head  is  also  made  thicker.  The  depth  is  increased  to  nine 
inches  to  give  greater  stiffness,  found  necessary  under  the 
tremendous  traffic  on  their  lines.  It  is  the  design  of  Chief 
Engineer  F.  S.  Pearson. 

Sections  Fig.  76  and  Fig.  77  are  the  standards  of  the 
Brooklyn  Heights  Railroad,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  are  the 
design  of  Chief  Engineer  J.  C.  Breckenridge.  They  are  pecul- 
iar in  having  the  web  brought  more  central  under  the  head — 
a  desirable  feature  where  the  car  traffic  is  so  dense  as  to 
almost  exclude  the  wagon  traffic  from  the  tracks.  The  load  is 
then  transmitted  more  directly  to  the  base  and  without  much 
tendency  to  cant  the  rail  out.  It  also  gives  greater  thickness 
of  neck  and  consequently  much  more  wear  when  used  on 
curves.  Section  Fig.  77  follows  somewhat  the  Metropolitan 
idea  in  the  tram.  It  is  contended  that  trams  of  this  type 
hold  the  asphalt  in  place. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  T   KAIL   AS  ADAPTED   TO   STREET  RAILWAYS. 

THE  rail  sections  considered  in  the  two  previous  chapters 
are  called  "  girder  rails "  to  distinguish  them  from  the  old  flat 
rail,  which  was  in  no  sense  a  girder. 

The  rails  commonly  used  on  steam  roads  in  this  country 
are  called  T  rails,  and  have  the  properties  of  the  girder,  as 
much  as  the  special  street-railway  rails  to  which  that  term  is 
applied.  In  fact,  they  more  nearly  resemble  a  girder,  in  that 
they  are  symmetrical  about  a  vertical  axis,  a  property  which 
only  the  center-bearing  type  of  girder  rails  possess.  The  term 
"T  rail"  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  no  more  accurate  one  than 
"girder  rail,"  but  both  are  accepted  by  common  usage. 

The  T  rail  is  used  exclusively  on  the  175,000  miles  of  steam 
railroads  in  the  United  States,  and  so  far  superior  is  it  to  any 
other  section  that  there  is  little  wonder  we  find  it  used  in 
an  ever-increasing  percentage  on  the  13,000  miles  of  street 
railways. 

The  number  of  sections  and  the  variety  in  designs  far 
exceed  those  of  the  girder  rail,  which  fact  is  the  more  remark- 
able when  it  is  considered  how  much  simpler  the  sections  are, 
and  the  almost  uniform  conditions  under  which  they  are 
employed. 

Figs.  79,  80,  81,  82,  83  show  sections  that  are  standard  on 
several  of  our  most  important  steam  roads,  and  Fig.  84  one  of 
the  sections  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers.  For 
the  rake  of  comparison  I  have  selected  those  of  about  equal 
weight,  and  which  would  be  suitable  for  a  well-built  electric 
rail-R  ay  carrying  a  heavy  traffic.  The  difference  in  design  is 
quite  marked,  even  to  the  unpracticed  eye. 

34 


THE  T  KAIL  AS  ADAPTED  TO  STREET  RAILWAYS.  35 

\ 2  it' 


FIG.  83. 
STANDARD  STEAM-RAIL  SECTIONS. 


FIG.  84.— STANDARD  SECTION  OF  THE  A.  S.  C.  E. 


36  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

The  conditions  on  steam  roads  differ  materially  from  those 
on  street  railways,  mainly  in  the  fact  that  the  track  is 
exposed,  so  that  joints  and  all  other  fastenings  are  accessible, 
and  also  in  that  they  are  subject  to  heavier  traffic  at  higher 
speeds.  On  street  railways  the  conditions  met  with  in  subur- 
ban and  interurban  lines  differ  from  those  in  the  cities  and 
more  populous  districts,  and  approach  more  nearly  to  those  of 
the  steam  roads,  in  so  far  as  the  construction  of  the  roadbed 
is  concerned.  They  are  often  such  as  to  admit  of  the  use  of 
the  T  rail,  and  since  this  section  possesses  many  advantages 
over  the  girder  rail,  the  privilege  of  using  it  is  gladly 
embraced.  The  T  rail  is  held  in  such  great  favor  by  street- 
railway  men  that  many  successful  efforts  are  being  made  to 
use  it,  though  in  a  modified  form,  in  city  streets  in  a  manner 
shown  later  on. 

Naturally,  therefore,  the  use  of  T  rail  on  street  railways 
should  be  considered  under  two  heads,  that  in  suburban 
and  interurban  lines,  or  in  unpaved  track,  and  that  in 
city  lines,  or  in  paved  track.  In  this  order,  then,  they  will 
be  taken  up. 

The  points  of  superiority  of  the  T  over  girder  rails, 
briefly  stated,  are  as  follows : 

1.  It   is   cheaper,  for  the  price  per  ton  is  less  than   the 
girder  rail,  and  owing  to  the  absence  of  the  tram  or  groove, 
and  also  owing  to  its  symmetrical  section,  a  much  lighter  rail 
may  be  used  than  in  a  girder  track  under  similar  conditions, 
at  the  same  time  obtaining  an  equally  substantial  track. 

2.  It  is  easier  to  lay,  for,  the  section  being  symmetrical,  the 
application  of  the  joints  becomes  a  simpler  matter,  although 
this  requires  careful  attention  in  all  track-laying.    Easy  curves 
may  be  sprung  in,  and  sharper  ones  be  laid  by  means  of  a 
portable  bender,  with  a  greater  certainty  of  the  track  keeping 
its  alignment  than  with  girder  rails.     Then  there  may  always 
be  found  a  greater  number  of  trackmen  familiar  with  the  lay- 
ing of  T  rails  than  girder.     These  points  are  of  vast  impor- 
tance, for  on  them  depends  the  durability  of  the  track,  more 
than  upon  the  shape  of  the  rail  or  fastenings  or  any  other 
feature. 


THE  T  KAIL  AS  ADAPTED  TO  STREET  RAILWAYS.  37 

3.  It  has  a  cleaner  head,  owing  to  the  absence  of  -the  tram 
and  groove  of  the  girder  rail.  It  offers  no  attraction  to  street 
traffic,  and  if  properly  laid  in  a  well-macadamized,  brick-paved, 
or  asphalted  street,  the  track  will  usually  be  found  in  a  much 
better  condition  than  with  any  girder  rail. 
>  The  last  two  conditions  contribute,  of  course,  to  a  better 
track  in  every  way  for  operation,  for  track  frictions  are 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  And  since  the  track  surfacing  is  not 
hampered  by  street  grades,  the  outer  rail  of  curves  may  have 
its  proper  elevation,  and  cars  may  run  at  the  maximum 
speed  at  all  points. 

Steam -road  practice  may  be  followed  very  closely  on  inter- 
urban  lines  where  the  track  is  exposed,  and  in  Figs.  85  and  86 
are  given  standard  cross-sections  of  single-  and  double-track 
construction  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  which  prob- 
ably represent  the  best  practice.  These  sections  show  in  a 
complete  and  comprehensive  manner  the  method  of  grading, 
draining,  ballasting,  etc.  Below  are  given  extracts  from  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company's  general  specifications  gov- 
erning the  construction,  all  of  which  could  be  followed  to 
advantage  on  that  class  of  electric  track  under  consideration. 

P.  R.  R.  SPECIFICATIONS  FOR  LAYING  ROADBED. 

Roadbed. — The  surface  of  the  roadbed  should  be  graded  to  a  regular 
and  uniform  sub-grade,  sloping  gradually  from  the  center  towards  the 
ditches. 

Ballast.—  There  shall  be  a  uniform  depth  of  six  to  twelve  inches  of 
well-broken  stone  or  gravel,  cleaned  from  dust  by  passing  over  a  screen 
of  one-quarter-inch  mesh,  spread  overthe  roadbed  and  surfaced  to  a  true 
grade,  upon  which  the  ties  are  to  be  laid.  After  the  ties  and  rails  have 
been  properly  laid  and  surfaced,  the  ballast  must  be  filled  up  as  shown  on 
standard  plan  ;  and  also  between  the  main  tracks  and  sidings  where  stone 
ballast  is  used.  All  stone  ballast  is  to  be  of  uniform  size  and  the  stone 
used  must  be  of  an  approved  quality,  broken  uniformly,  not  larger 
than  a  cube  that  will  pass  through  a  S^-in.  ring.  On  embankments  that 
are  not  well  settled  the  surface  of  the  roadbed  shall  be  brought  up  with 
cinder,  gravel,  or  some  other  suitable  material. 

Gross-ties. — The  ties  are  to  be  regularly  placed  upon  the  ballast.  They 
must  be  properly  and  evenly  placed,  with  ten  inches  between  the  edges 
of  bearing  surface  at  joints,  with  intermediate  ties  evenly  spaced  ;  and 


THE  T  RAIL  AS  ADAPTED  TO  STREET  RAILWAYS.  39 

the  ends  on  the  outside  on  double  track,  and  on  the  right-hand  side 
going  north  or  west  on  single  track,  lined  up  parallel  with  the  rails. 
The  ties  must  not  be  notched  under  any  circumstances ;  but,  should 
they  be  twisted,  they  must  be  made  true  with  the  adze,  that  the  rails 
may  have  an  even  bearing  over  the  whole  breadth  of  the  tie. 

Line  and  Surface. — The  track  shall  be  laid  in  true  line  and  surface  ; 
the  rails  are  to  be  laid  and  spiked  after  the  ties  have  been  bedded  in  the 
ballast  ;  and  on  curves,  the  proper  elevation  must  be  given  to  the  outer 
rail  and  carried  uniformly  around  the  curve.  This  elevation  should  be 
commenced  from  50  to  300  ft.  back  of  the  point  of  curvature,  depending 
on  the  degree  of  the  curve  and  speed  of  trains,  and  increased  uniformly 
to  the  latter  point,  where  the  full  elevation  is  attained.  The  same 
method  should  be  adopted  in  leaving  the  curve. 

Joints. — The  joints  of  the  rails  shall  be  exactly  midway  between  the 
joint-ties,  and  the  joint  on  one  line  of  rail  must  be  opposite  the  center  of 
the  rail  on  the  other  line  of  the  same  track.  A  Fahrenheit  thermometer 
should  be  used  when  laying  rails,  and  care  taken  to  arrange  the  open- 
ings between  rails  in  direct  proportion  to  the  following  temperatures  and 
distances:  at  a  temperature  of  0  deg.,  a  distance  of  T5F  in.;  at  50  degs., 
/¥in.;  and  in  extreme  summer  heat,  of,  say,  100  degs.  and  over,  -fa 
in.  must  be  left  between  the  ends  of  the  rails  to  allow  for  expansion. 
The  splices  must  be  properly  put  on  with  the  full  number  of  bolts,  nuts, 
and  nut-locks,  and  the  nuts  placed  on  inside  of  rails,  except  on  rails  of 
sixty  pounds  per  yard  and  under,  where  they  shall  be  placed  on  the 
outside,  and  screwed  up  tight.  The  rails  must  be  spiked  both  on  the 
inside  and  outside  at  each  tie,  on  straight  lines  as  well  as  on  curves,  and 
the  spikes  driven  in  such  position  as  to  keep  the  ties  at  right  angles  to 
the  rails. 

Switches. — The  switches  and  frogs  should  be  kept  well  lined  up  and 
in  good  surface.  Switch  signals  must  be  kept  bright  and  in  good  order, 
and  the  distant  signal  and  facing-point  lock  used  for  all  switches  where 
trains  run  against  the  points,  except  on  single-track  branch  roads. 

Ditches. — The  cross-section  of  ditches  at  the  highest  point  must  be  of 
the  width  and  depth  as  shown  on  the  standard  drawing,  and  graded  par- 
allel with  the  track,  so  as  to  pass  water  freely  during  heavy  rains  and 
thoroughly  drain  the  ballast  and  roadbed.  The  line  of  the  bottom  of 
the  ditch  must  be  made  parallel  with  the  rails,  and  well  and  neatly  de- 
fined, at  the  standard  distance  from  the  outside  rail.  All  necessary  cross- 
drains  must  be  put  in  at  proper  intervals.  Earth  taken  from  ditches  or 
elsewhere  must  not  be  left  at  or  near  the  ends  of  the  ties,  thrown  up  on 
the  slopes  of  cuts,  nor  on  the  ballast,  but  must  be'  deposited  over  the 
sides  of  embankments.  Berm  ditches  shall  be  provided  to  protect  the 
slopes  of  cuts,  where  necessary.  The  channels  of  streams  for  a  consid- 
erable distance  above  the  road  should  be  examined,  and  brush,  drift,  and 
other  obstructions  removed.  Ditches,  culverts,  and  box  drains  should 


40 


STKEET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


be  cleared  of  all  obstructions,  and  the  outlets  and  inlets  of  the  same  kept 
open  to  allow  a  free  flow  of  water  at  all  times. 

Road  Crossings.— The  road-crossing  planks  shall  be  securely  spiked; 
the  planking  on  inside  of  rails  should  be  £  in.,  and  on  outside  of  rails  it 
should  be  £  in.,  below  the  top  of  rail,  and  2^  in.  from  the  gauge  line. 
The  ends  and  inside  edges  of  planks  should  be  beveled  off  as  shown  on 
standard  plan. 

A  fine  example  of  suburban  electric-track  construction 
following  steam-railroad  practice  is  that  of  a  Baltimore  road 
built  by  D.  B.  Banks,  C.E.— Fig.  87. 

It  often  happens,  however,  on  suburban  lines,  that  the  track 
is  laid  in  or  alongside  of  the  public  highway,  and  it  is  required 
to  fill  the  track  and  keep  the  surface  to  its  level.  In  these 


FIG.  87. — T-RAIL  CONSTRUCTION  ON  SUBURBAN  LINE  IN  BALTIMORE. 

cases  the  sub-construction  should  be  the  same  as  above  de- 
scribed, and  the  ballast  be  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  top 
of  the  rail.  This  construction  offers  less  obstruction  to  travel, 


THE  T  KAIL  AS  ADAPTED  TO  STREET  RAILWAYS. 


41 


and  permits  teams  to  cross  at  any  point;  although  it  is  not  in- 
tended that  the  track  itself  shall  be  used  for  street  traffic. 

When  T-rail  track  is  laid  in  macadamized  streets,  the  only 
change  in  construction  necessary  is  the  use  of  a  layer  of  finer 


FIG.  90. 
T-RAIL  SECTIONS. 

material  for  the  top  course,  with  a  free  use  of  a    cavy  road 
roller. 

It  is  a  gradual  transition  from  the  open  track  to  the  track 
in  paved  streets.  With  the  latter  comes  not  only  a  change  in 
the  general  style  of  construction,  but  one  in  the  rail  itself- 


42  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

All  pavements,  save  asphalt,  require  a  deep  rail,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  change  is  brought  about  in  the  T  rail  is 
well  shown  by  Figs.  88,  89,  90,  of  five-,  six-,  and  seven-inch 
rails.  Eails  of  even  eight  and  nine  inches  have  been  pro- 
posed. 

These  all  have  the  characteristic  square  head.  The  base 
increases  in  width  with  the  height.  The  fillet  at  the  lower 
outer  corner  of  the  head  is  made  as  small  as  practicable,  in 
order  to  obtain  all  the  bearing  possible  for  the  splice-bars,  a 
very  essential  feature.  There  is  one  point,  however,  wherein 
these  high  T's  show  up  to  a  disadvantage,  and  that  is  in  the 
alignment.  Not  having  the  lateral  stiffness  of  the  girder  rail, 
with  its  tram  or  lip,  the  track  is  apt  to  present  a  "wavy"  ap- 
pearance which  braces  and  tie  rods  will  hardly  prevent.  This 
is  a  matter  which  appeals  more  to  the  eye  of  a  good  trackman 
than  to  the  operator.  These  rails  have  been  very  successfully 
laid  in  the  smaller  cities  in  connection  with  well-macadamized 
roads  and  brick  pavements.  Even  the  shallower  granite  block 
pavements  may  be  laid  with  this  track  with  success.  This 
construction  is  becoming  more  popular  as  the  prejudice  to  T 
rails  wears  away.  New  England  has  many  examples  of  well- 
laid  T-rail  track  in  city  streets,  and  in  connection  with  nearly 
all  kinds  of  pavement — notably  at  New  Haven,  Bridgeport, 
and  Waterbury.  There  is  also  a  notable  example  of  good  road- 
bed in  the  West  at  Terre  Haute,  where,  however,  the  construc- 
tion is  unusual  in  that  a  concrete  base  is  employed  and  steel 
ties  used — a  construction  that  would  do  full  justice  to  any  rail. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TRACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS. 

RAILS  cannot  be  made,  like  wire,  in  indefinite  lengths;  nor 
could  they  be  shipped  or  handled  conveniently  in  lengths  of 
over  sixty  feet,  the  longest  rails  laid  to-day.  The  usual 
lengths  are  thirty,  thirty-two,  forty-five,  and  sixty  feet. 

There  must  be  some  good  connection  between  these  separate 
rails  when  laid,  to  insure  a  continuity  of  track  surface,  and  the 
question  of  joints  comes  forward  as  one  of  greatest  moment. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  joint  has  received  fully  as  much  con- 
sideration as  the  rail,  since  the  advent  of  the  electric  motor. 
What  constitutes  a  good  joint  ?  Simply  a  fastening  which, 
when  properly  applied  to  the  abutting  rail  ends,  will  hold 
them  in  as  good  line  and  surface  as  the  body  of  the  rail. 

It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  rails  laid  in  paved  or  mac- 
adamized streets  and  covered  to  their  full  depth,  as  is  usually 
the  case  on  street  railways,  may  be  "  butted/'  i.e.,  laid  without 
any  opening  between  the  ends  for  expansion.  This  can  be 
done  without  danger  from  the  effects  of  changes  of  tempera- 
ture. This  fact  simplifies  to  a  great  extent  the  problem  of 
making  a  good  joint;  for  any  opening,  even  as  small  as  £ 
in.,  will  cause  a  "  pound  "  on  the  passage  of  a  wheel.  The 
jar  resulting  from  this  pound  will  cause  nuts,  clips,  and  other 
fastenings  to  loosen  in  time,  and  consequently  produce  a 
defective  spot  in  the  track. 

There  is  a  considerable  strain  produced  in  a  line  of  rails  by 
the  changes  of  temperature,*  but  there  is  no  appreciable  move- 

*  The  coefficient  of  expansion  for  steel  due  to  a  change  in  temperature  of  1°  F.  is 
.00000688  (Ganot).  The  rate  of  elongation  of  a  bar  of  rail-steel  when  subjected  to  a 
tensile  strain  within  its>lastic  limit  is,  according  to  the  average  of  a  large  number 


44  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

ment  because  the  whole  effort  is  absorbed  by  the  elasticity  of 
the  metal  and  the  vise-like  grip  of  the  pavement  and  sur- 
rounding material. 

Kails  are  usually  ( '  hot-sawed,"  i.e.,  sawed  to  length  as  they 
come  from  the  rolls  at  a  bright  red  heat;  and  as  it  is  quite  im- 
possible to  thus  make  a  perfectly  smooth  and  square  cut,  the 
practice  is  to  slightly  undercut  them.  The  amount  of  this 
undercut  is  about  r^  in.,  leaving  an  opening  at  the  base  of 
about  ^  in.  when  the  heads  abut.  The  most  common  form  of 
joint  is  that  made  with  two  plates  in  the  shape  of  shallow 
channels,  placed  one  on  either  side  of  the  rail,  and  taking 
a  bearing  on  the  inclined  surfaces  of  the  head  and  base.  They 
are  held  in  position  by  bolts  passing  horizontally  through 
both  plates  and  the  rail.  The  bolts  used  are  called  track- 
bolts,  and  have  a  button  head.  That  portion  of  the  shank 
next  the  head,  for  a  distance  equal  to  the  thickness  of  the 
joint-plate,  is  of  oval  form,  and  as  it  fits  a  hole  of  the  same 
shape,  the  bolt  is  prevented  from  turning  when  the  nut  is  be- 
ing put  on.  The  nut  is  either  square  or  hexagonal.  Where 
there  is  room  for  it  to  turn,  the  square  nut  is  preferable  in  giv- 
ing more  bearing  against  the  joint-plate  and  a  better  grip  for 
the  wrench.  The  hexagonal,  or  "hex,"  nut  is  used  where 
there  is  less  clearance,  as  is  often  the  case  on  angle-joints  on 
T  rails  and  on  the  deep  girder  rails  where  there  are  two  rows 
of  bolts  ;  for  in  these  latter  cases  it  is  desirable  to  get  the  bolt 
as  close  as  possible  to  the  edge  of  the  plabe. 

The  most  essential  feature  of  a  joint  is  that  the  plates 
shall  have  as  much  bearing  as  possible.  There  is  little  gained 

of  tests  made  by  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  about  .00006  in.  per  1000  Ibs.  per 
square  inch.  Dividing  the  temperature  coefficient  by  the  latter,  we  get  114.6  Ibs.  as 
the  strain  per  square  inch  produced  in  a  rail  due  to  a  change  of  1°,  provided  the 
ends  are  rigidly  held  and  that  there  can  be  no  lateral  or  vertical  bending  when 
compression  takes  place.  Assuming  a  change  in  temperature  of  100°,  we  get  a  strain 
of  11,460  Ibs.  per  square  inch,  which  is  about  one-fifth  of  the  elastic  limit  and  one. 
ninth  of  the  ultimate  strength  of  rail-steel.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  rails 
are  not  usually  laid  with  the  entire  end  surfaces  abutting  perfectly,  and  there 
is  some  chance  for  a  small  movement  by  compression  of  the  small  ridges  produced 
by  the  saw.  Then,  again,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  a  rail  will  be  under  no  strain 
at  one  of  the  extremes  of  temperature,  but  that  the  point  of  no  strain  will  be  at  an 
average  temperature.  So  that,  under  these  considerations,  it  is  not  probable  that 
the  strain  in  a  rail  will  ever  exceed  one-third  the  figure  given  above,  or  about  4000 
Ibs.  per  square  inch— a  strain  which  is  absolutely  without  danger  of  any  kind. 


TRACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS. 


45 


in  making  any  of  the  flanges  wider  than  others,  for  a  joint  is 
like  a  bridge  in  this  respect,  that  the  weakest  part  determines 
the  strength  of  the  whole.  That  portion  of  the  rail  which 
generally  determines  the  width  of  the  joint-plate  flanges  is 
under  the  head,  and  whatever  width  of  bearing  may  be 
obtained  here  should  be  used  at  the  other  points.  It  is  ex- 
tremely important  that  the  joint-plates  should  fit  the  rail,  and 
that  when  drawn  up  by  the  bolts  the  bearing  surfaces  shall 
be  in  contact  with  the  rail  with  a  uniform  pressure  over  their 
entire  surface.  In  order  that  the  plates  may  not  bend  under 
the  strain  of  the  bolts  and  destroy  this  bearing,  they  are 
always  made  convex.  This  is  a  proper  feature,  but  even  an 
arch  when  not  of  sufficient  thickness  to  carry  its  load  will 
fail,  as  do  many  joint-plates  by  being  pulled  in  against  the 
web  of  the  rail.  Fig.  91  clearly  shows  the  result  of  such 


FIG.  91. — BUCKLED  JOINT-PLATES. 

action.  The  bearing  instead  of  being  distributed  over  a  sur- 
face is  concentrated  along  a  line.  The  effect  of  this  is  to 
rapidly  wear  away  the  parts  of  the  rail  and  joint  in  contact, 
and  thus  loosen  the  joint.  One  cause  for  this  lies  in  the  in- 
creased size  of  the  bolt  used,  without  increasing  the  thickness 
of  the  plates  proportionately.  Larger  bolts  are  used  because 


46  STREET-EAILWAY    ROADBED. 

of  their  tendency  to  remain  tight,  due  to  the  frictional  resist- 
ance of  a  largely  increased  thread  area. 

Plain  or  channel  plates  for  6-in.  rails  should  be  not  less 
than  T9T  in.  thick  at  the  center,  those  for  7-in.  rails  -f-  in.,  and 
for  9-in.  rails  not  less  than  •}  in.  Even  with  these  heavy 
plates  there  is  danger  of  their  being  bent  in  sufficiently  to 
destroy  the  fit  unless  some  care  is  exercised  in  tightening  up 
the  bolts.  Plates  of  less  thickness  than  those  given  above 
have  ample  vertical  stiffness,  and  in  order  to  prevent  this  in- 
ward bending  on  deep  girder  rails  having  a  double  row  of 
bolts  the  writer  devised  the  "  ribbed "  plate  shown  in  Fig. 
92.  (See  also  Figs.  52,  55,  65,  and  68.)  The  8|-m.  rail  (Fig. 


FIG.  92.— RIBBED  JOINT-PLATES. 

65)  was  the  first  section  made  having  this  type  of  joint.  It 
was  laid  on  the  Atlantic  Avenue  Railroad  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
in  1892-3.  With  this  center  bearing  it  is  readily  seen  that 
bending  is  prevented  and  the  true  bearing  of  the  joint-plate 
flanges  insured,  even  when  bolts  are  tightened  up  to  the  limit 
of  their  strength. 

In  this  connection  it  might  be  well  to  explain  how  rolled 
joint-plates  should  be  applied.  Rails  fresh  from  the  mills  are 
covered  more  or  less  with  a  thin  coat  of  black  oxide  of  iron. 


TEACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS.  47 

Much  of  this  falls  off  during  the  process  of  straightening, 
loading  and  unloading  ;  but  there  is  always  some  adhering  to 
the  rail  when  placed  in  the  track.  This,  to  my  mind,  is  one 
of  the  worst  enemies  of  the  joint,  for  after  the  latter  is  applied 
and  the  track  is  used  the  jar  of  passing  wheels  reduces  this 
scale  to  a  thin  powder.  This  powder,  working  its  way  out 
from  between  the  rail  and  joint-plate,  leaves  the  'latter  loose* 
or  well  started  in  that  direction.  This  coating  of  oxide  or 
'•'scale"  is  also  found  on  the  joint-plates.  Therefore  the  first 
thing  to  do  is  to  remove  it  from  the  bearing  surfaces,  which 
may  be  done  with  a  light  hammer,  a  file,  or  a  scraper.  By  the 
time  the  rail  reaches  its  destination  this  scale  will  be  found 
only  in  patches,  and  probably  the  first  tool  mentioned  is  the 
best  for  the  purpose,  as  the  scale  easily  crumbles  off  after  a 
few  light  blows  on  the  spot.  This  is  a  matter  which  is  of 
considerable  importance,  and  yet  is  often,  if  not  always,  over- 
looked. 

The  next  step  is  to  place  the  plates  in  their  proper  position 
and,  putting  in  all  the  bolts,  screw  them  up  only  sufficiently 
tight  to  hold  the  rails  snugly.  Care  should  be  exercised  here, 
as  well  as  at  each  subsequent  operation,  to  see  that  the  plates 
go  on  evenly.  After  the  spiking  has  been  done  and  the  track 
surfaced,  all  bolts  should  be  gone  over  carefully,  pulling  every 
nut  up  tight.  This  may  be  done  most  effectively  with  a  two- 
foot  wrench  ;  and  while  pulling  on  the  wrench,  tap  the  head 
of  the  bolt  with  a  one-pound  hammer.  A  few  blows  on  the 
plates  and  on  the  head  of  the  rail  with  a  light  sledge  during 
this  proceeding  will  have  a  beneficial  effect.  Again,  after  the 
track  is  finally  lined  and  surfaced,  every  bolt  should  be  gone 
over  with  wrench  and  hammer.  A  final  inspection  before 
filling  in  will  do  no  harm. 

If  plain  channel  joints  have  been  used,  too  much  care  can- 
not be  exercised,  in  drawing  up  the  bolts,  not  to  bend  the 
plates,  for  they  will  do  more  good  when  bearing  evenly  against 
the  rail-flanges,  even  if  the  bolts  are  not  as  tight  as  they 
might  be. 

Channel  joints  are  used  from  20  in.  to  38  in.  long  and 
with  four  to  twelve  bolts.  The  bolts  should  be  either  in.  or 


48  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

1  in.  in  diameter.  The  writer  is  of  the  opinion  that  for  6-in. 
and  7-in.  rails  the  joint  should  be  26  to  36  in.  long,  f  in. 
thick,  and  have  six  or  eight  1-in.  bolts;  on  rails  deeper  than 
7  in.  a  joint  of  about  the  same  length,  or  even  shorter,  with 
two  rows  of  six  bolts  each.  Plain  channel  bolts  should  be  -J 
in.  thick;  "ribbed"  plates  may  be  ^  in.  and  the  bolts  1  in.  in 
diameter.  The  spacing  of  the  bolts  is  a  matter  about  which 
there  seems  to  be  considerable  diversity  of  opinion,  but  that 
in  which  the  length  of  plate  is  divided  evenly  will  give  as  good 
results  as  any. 

Nut-locks  are  frequently  used  on  street-railway  tracks;  but 
while  admitting  that  there  are  many  excellent  devices  intended 
to  hold  the  nuts  up  to  their  work  which  may  be  of  service  on 
exposed  tracks,  it  is  my  opinion  that  their  use  is  an  unnecessary 
expense  on  tracks  that  are  covered  in.  In  these  cases  there  is 
quickly  formed  a  coating  of  rust  which,  with  the  grip  of  the 
surrounding  gravel  and  sand,  holds  the  nut  as  in  a  vise,  and 
if  the  joint  becomes  loose  it  is  from  other  causes. 

The  joint  made  as  above  described  and  properly  applied  on 
rails  of  seven  inches  and  over  will  give  very  satisfactory  re- 
sults. The  deeper  the  rail,  however,  all  other  things  being 
equal,  the  better  the  joint  is  apt  to  be,  for  with  the  stiffer  rail 
the  tendency  to  a  movement  between  the  parts  of  the  joint  is 
lessened.  With  the  nine-inch  girders  as  laid  to-day  this 
movement  of  track  is  practically  nothing. 

There  are  many  forms  of  the  bolted  and  keyed  joints,  some 
of  which  possess  considerable  merit,  and  the  question  of  their 
use  is  one  to  be  settled  by  the  manager  in  each  case.  We  give 
below  descriptions  of  a  few  of  the  most  important  ones. 

The  girder  joint  (Fig.  93)  is  of  that  class  of  joints  which 
grip  the  base  of  the  rail.  In  addition  to  this  it  performs 
another  office — that  of  a  chair — and  is  therefore  best  adapted 
to  rails  of  six  inches  and  less  in  height,  although  they  are  used 
on  seven-inch  rails  to  some  extent.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
joints  of  this  type  would  be  used  much  more  extensively  than 
they  are  but  for  the  fact  that  solid  deep-rail  track  can 
now  be  bought  for  about  the  same  price  as  the  shallow  and 
lighter  rails  with  chairs.  The  girder  joint  is  not  so  well 


TKACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS.  49 

adapted  to  deep  rails:  first,  because  it  does  not  hold  the  rails 
in  strict  alignment ;  and  second,  because  the  ties  are  thrown 
so  far  below  the  surface. 


FIG.  93.— GIRDER  JOINT. 

The  Wheeler  rail-joint  (Fig.  94)  is  made  of  malleable  cast  iron 
in  two  parts,  and  is  without  bolts.  One  of  the  parts,  the  larger 
one,  called  the  "  housing,"  has  a  bearing  surface  extending 
under  the  entire  width  of  the  base  of  the  rail,  and  has  formed 
under  this  "shelf  a  tapered  pocket  which  receives  a  wedge 


FIG.  94. — WHEELER  RAIL- JOINT. 

formed  in  the  lower  side  of  the  other  part.  The  housing  is 
provided  with  lugs  engaging  holes  in  the  rail-web  which  pre- 
vent its  slipping  from  a  central  position  when  the  wedge  por- 
tion is  driven  home.  The  whole  is  well  braced  by  ribs.  The 
manufacturers  say:  "There  is  no  attempt  to  assist  the  web 
in  holding  up  the  rail-head,  as  we  believe  all  T  and  tram  rails 
are  or  should  be  stiff  enough  to  carry  the  traffic,  and  are  as 


50 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


stiff  at  the  ends  as  at  any  other  portion  of  the  rail  length,  and 
that  the  province  of  a  rail-joint  is  to  prevent  motion  of  rail 
ends  by  keeping  the  bases  and  webs  in  perfect  alignment  and 
immovable,  thus  insuring  a  permanent  alignment  and  surface 
of  the  head  and  tram." 

The  Weber  joint  (Fig.  95)  is  peculiar  in  having,  in  addition 


FIG.  95. — WEBER  HAIL- JOINT  APPLIED  TO  GIRDER-RAIL. 
to  the  two  well-fitting  channel  joints,  an  angle  which  has  one 
leg  extending  under  the  rails.  The  space  between  the  vertical 
leg  and  one  of  the  joint-plates  is  filled  with  a  piece  of  sound 
Georgia  pine.  The  bolts  pass  through  the  two  plates,  the  rail, 
the  pine  filler,  and  the  angle.  Of  course  such  a  joint  is  more 
expensive,  first  cost  considered,  than  the  ordinary  joint ;  but 
it  is  claimed  that  the  addition  of  the  angle  not  only  stiffens 
the  whole  joint  greatly,  but  also  maintains  the  rails  in  good 
surface.  The  elasticity  of  the  pine  filler  keeps  the  whole 
joint  tight  by  taking  up  all  loosening  effect  of  wear.  The 
Weber  joint  has  made  a  remarkable  record  on  open  track, 
where  it  not  only  maintains  a  good  surface  when  applied  to 
new  track,  but  on  old  track  with  "  low  "  joints  it  has  brought 
the  rails  up  to  line  and  surface,  which  it  is  not  possible  to 
attain  with  the  ordinary  angle-joints. 

Two  other  joints  made  on  the  principle  of  base  support  are 


TRACK   FASTENINGS  AND    JOINTS. 


51 


used  to  some  extent:  the  "continuous"  joint  (Fig.  96)  and 
the  "Churchill"  joint  (Fig.  97). 

With  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  rails  may  be  laid  with 


FIG.  96 — "CONTINUOUS"  RAIL-JOINT. 


FIG.  97. — "  CHURCHILL"  RAIL- JOINT. 

butted  joints  naturally  comes  also   the  question:   Is  it  not 
possible  to  make  and  apply  a  permanent  joint  which  will 


52  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

make  the  track  practically  two  continuous  rails  ?  There  are 
two  methods  now  in  use  which  endeavor  to  reach  this  end, 
namely,  the  process  of  electrically  welding  the  rail  ends 
together  and  that  of  "cast-welding." 

The  former  process  consists  in  fusing  a  piece  of  metal  on 
each  side  of  the  web  at  the  joint  by  passing  through  them, 
when  held  tightly  against  the  rail,  a  current  of  low  voltage 
and  great  volume.  Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  unite 
the  rail  ends  directly.  The  process  of  electric  welding  is 
not  welding  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  a  melting  of  the  sepa- 
rate pieces  together.  To  do  this  properly  with  steel  requires 
the  expenditure  of  about  fifty  horse-power  per  square  inch. 
The  operation  is  completed  so  quickly  that  a  few  inches 
from  the  point  of  melting  steel  the  rail  is  quite  cold.  The 
heated  portion  on  slowly  cooling  passes  through  an  annealing 
process  and  leaves  a  distinct  line  of  demarkation  between  two 
conditions  of  steel — which  is  also  a  line  of  weakness.  This 
was  proved  by  a  considerable  percentage  of  breakages  taking 
place  at  this  point  when  the  track  became  subject  to  the 
strains  produced  by  changing  temperature.  The  apparatus 
used  is  necessarily  cumbersome  and  expensive,  and  it  is 
questionable  if  the  results  attained  are  commensurate  with 
the  expense. 

The  "  cast-welded  "  joint  consists  simply  in  a  mass  of  cast 
iron  poured  around  the  abutting  rail-ends,  uniting  through 
holes  in  the  web.  It  is  possible  to  make  a  very  close  union 
between  the  cast  iron  and  the  rail,  and  with  the  proper  amount 
of  iron  a  very  strong  and  substantial  joint  can  be  produced. 

The  results  from  this  method  of  joining  rails  have  been 
quite  satisfactory  and  several  roads — particularly  in  the  West 
— have  adopted  this  type  of  joint  exclusively. 

The  use  of  shallow  girder  rails  required  the  use  of  some 
support  between  the  rail  and  tie  in  order  to  secure  sufficient 
depth  for  the  paving.  The  first  provision  made  with  this  ob- 
ject in  view  was  simply  the  old  construction  for  flat  rails, 
with  a  longitudinal  timber  stringer  dropped  to  a  depth 
sufficient  to  accommodate  the  rail.  It  was  claimed  for 
this  construction  that  a  continuous  support  was  provided 


TRACK   FASTENINGS  AND   JOINTS. 


53 


under  the  rail  and  joints.  As  the  timber  rapidly  decayed 
under  the  joints,  the  latter  claim  soon  proved  its  weakness. 
The  desire  for  a  cheaper  construction,  and  also  the  laud- 


FIG.  98. 


Fm.  99. 
VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 

able  wish  to  avoid  the  use  of  so  much  timber  in  the  street, 
led  to  the  use  of  metallic  chairs.  They  were  at  first 
made  of  cast  iron,  but  the  bad  fits  produced  with  this  mate- 
rial, combined  with  the  many  breakages  in  applying  and 


54 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


use,  led  to  its_'abandonment  in  favor  of  rolled  or  forged  chairs. 
If  the  metal  was  properly  distributed  in  these,  a  fairly  stiif 


FIG.  100. 


FIG.  101. 
VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 

structure  was  obtained,  especially  in  forged  chairs  in  which  a 
bracket  was  struck  up,  as  shown  in  Fig.  103  and  to  a  more 


TRACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS. 


55 


notable  degree   in  Fig.  104.     Examples  of  various  forms  of 
chairs  and  their  fastenings  are  shown  in  Figs.  98-105. 


FIG.  103. 
VARIOUS  FORMS  OP  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 

In  order  to  support  the  joint  in  chair  construction  the 


56 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


FIG.  104. 


FIG.  105. 
VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 


FIG.  106.— CONSTRUCTION  WITH  TIE-PLATES  AND  TIE-RODS. 


TRACK  FASTENINGS  AND   JOINTS.  57 

girder  joint  shown  in  Fig.  105  was  introduced,  as  previously 
mentioned. 

The  lower  girder  rails  were  difficult  to  spike  properly  on 
account  of  the  overhanging  tram.  The  use  of  a  tie-plate  such 
as  is  shown  in  Fig.  107  obviated  this  difficulty  to  some  extent, 
as  well  as  serving  to  protect  the  tie  from  wear. 

The  gage  is  prevented  from  spreading  by  several  methods; 
the  earliest  and  yet  most  common  is  by  the  use  of  a  tie-rod 
between  the  webs  of  the  rails.  The  most  usual  size  is  a  flat 
bar  1-J"  by  f "  with  the  ends  forged  to  f "  round  and  threaded, 


FIG.  107.— SECTION  WITH  MALLEABLE  IRON  BRACE. 

a  nut  is  placed  on  each  side  of  the  web  and  tightened  up  as 
required,  thus  providing  a  convenient  method  of  adjusting 
the  rails  while  laying  track.  The  rod  is  of  considerable 
length  and  is  liable  to  stretch  somewhat,  thus  widening  the 
gage.  As  it  is  necessarily  applied  at  some  little  distance 
below  the  head,  a  leverage  is  developed  which  tends  to  pull 
the  inner  spike  and  thus  widen  the  gage.  Altogether,  it  is 
far  from  a  perfect  fastening.  The  construction  with  tie- 
plates  and  tie-rods  is  shown  in  Fig.  106. 

A  malleable  iron  brace  is  sometimes  used,  such  as  is  shown 
in  Fig.  108.  It  provides  a  support  directly  under  the  head, 
and  thus  resists  the  outward  thrust  most  efficiently,  except 


58 


STREET-KAILWAY   KOADBET). 


that  it  depends  for  its  own  stability  almost  entirely  upon  the 
hold  of  the  spikes  in  the  tie. 

A  further  advance  is  recorded  in  brace  tie-plates,  such  as 
is  shown  in  Figs.  109  and  110.    This  has  the  advantage  of  the 


FIG.  108. — SECTION  WITH  MALLEABLE  IRON  BRACE. 


FIG.  109.—  VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 

support  under  the  head,  and  also  utilizes  the  load  on  the  rail 
to  retain  the  brace  tie-plate  itself  in  position. 

"With  the  substitution  of  a  metallic  tie,  such  as  is  shown  in 
Fig.  Ill,  the  use  of  many  of  these  fixtures  will  be  dispensed 
with. 

At  present  prices  there  is  little  difference  between  the  cost 
of  a  first-class  wooden  tie  and  a  steel  tie  suited  to  street-rail- 
way use.  With  any  pavement  or  track  construction  using  a 


TRACK   FASTENINGS   AND   JOINTS.  59 

concrete  foundation  the  writer  would   recommend  their  adop 


FIG.  110. 
VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHAIRS  AND  THEIR  FASTENINGS. 


FIG.  111.— CONSTRUCTION  WITH  METALLIC  TIES. 

tion.     The  very  slightly  increased  cost  will  be  more  than  re- 
paid by  the  saving  in  repairs  and  renewal  of  ties. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SPECIAL   WORK.      CURVES. 

IT  would  be  safe  to  assert  that  there  has  never  been  built  a 
street-railway  system  that  has  not  had  a  piece  of  track  that 
required  some  special  preparation  other  than  that  given  to 
plain,  straight  track  before  it  could  be  laid  in  place.  Most 
systems  have  a  considerable  percentage  of  their  trackage  made 
up  of  curves,  crossings,  switches,  etc.  In  nearly  every  case 
these  curves  and  crossings  have  to  be  made  specially  to  fit 
given  locations,  and  hence  the  term  "special  work." 

In  tracks  made  with  rails  of  five  inches  or  under,  all  curves 
over  500  ft.  radius  may  be  "  sprung  in  "  as  the  construction 
proceeds;  and  if  the  track  is  otherwise  well  laid  the  alignment 
may  be  depended  on  to  remain  good.  But  with  all  heavier 
rails,  particularly  girder  rails,  no  curves  under  1000  ft.  radius 
should  be  laid  without  first  curving  the  rails  with  a  portable 
bender;  and  for  those  under  300  ft.  radius  the  rails  should 
be  put  through  a  power  machine.  In  no  other  way  is  it  pos- 
sible to  avoid  angular  joints.  The  writers  are  familiar  with 
several  cases,  and  one  in  particular,  where  a  piece  of  track 
was  laid  with  seven-inch  girder  rail,  in  which  there  are  several 
curves,  varying  from  400  ft.  to  1000  ft.  radius,  which  were 
"  sprung  in."  It  was  laid  by  a  skillful  trackman  and  engineer 
and  paved  in  brick.  The  alignment  when  new  was  fine,  but 
after  one  year's  traffic  under  a  five-minute  headway  the 
joints  began  to  show  themselves  by  a  slight  angle  in  the  line 
and  a  perceptible  jerk  of  the  car  in  passing.  It  would  there- 
fore seem  the  better  practice  to  avoid  the  habit  of  "spring- 
ing in  "  light  curves. 

Street-railway  curves  are  always  designated  by  the  radius, 
and  not  by  the  degree  of  curvature  in  hundred-foot  chords 
as  on  steam  roads.  The  chord  method  is  not  generally  used 

60 


SPECIAL  WORK.      CURVES.  61 

in  laying  them  out,  except  where  they  approach  the  dimen- 
sions of  steam-road  curves.  And  aside  from  other  incon- 
veniences, it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  designate  curves  by 
that  method  when  the  radius  is  under  fifty  feet — a  180-deg. 
curve. 

With  the  higher  speeds  that  have  come  with  mechanical 
power,  it  is  desirable  to  have  easier -running  curves  than  the 
simple  circular  curves  heretofore  commonly  used.  This  may 
be  obtained  by  "compounding,"  i.e.,  starting  with  a  long 
radius  curve  and  increasing  the  curvature,  or  shortening  the 
radius  at  intervals  till  the  desired  curvature  is  reached  for 
the  central  portion  of  the  curve.  This  is  done  at  each  end, 
making  usually  a  curve  which  is  symmetrical  about  the  radial 
line  at  its  center.  Theoretically  the  most  satisfactory  curve 
is  a  spiral  with  constantly  increasing  curvature  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  hyperbolic  spiral  or  the  logarithmic  spiral. 
But  practically  a  compound  curve  as  described  above  is  better; 
for  it  is  much  easier  to  figure,  and  if  the  compounding  is 
properly  done,  and  the  curve  properly  laid,  it  will  be  irnpos 
sible  to  detect  any  difference  in  the  motion  of  the  car  in 
passing  either. 

As  to  the  method  of  compounding  curves,  there  has  been  a 
considerable  improvement  within  the  last  three  years.  At 
first  three-center  and  five-center  curves  were  used,  all  arcs 
being  about  the  same  length.  But  as  the  demand  for  greater 
refinement  arose,  a  close  approximation  to  the  true  spiral  was 
obtained  in  the  adoption  of  compound  curves  made  up  of  arcs 
of  five  feet  or  less.  It  will  be  shown  later  that  on  three- 
center  curves — and  the  same  is  true  of  compound  curves 
having  arcs  of  greater  length  than  the  wheel  base,  combined 
with  large  changes  in  radius — the  ends  of  the  car  follow  a 
peculiar  path  which  imparts  a  jerky  motion  rather  unpleasant 
to  the  passengers.  Of  course  the  motorman,  with  one  hand 
on  the  controller  and  the  other  on  the  brake,  has  a  consider- 
able influence  over  the  manner  in  which  the  car  passes  around 
a  curve;  and  with  a  little  effort — or  the  lack  of  it — he  may 
knock  into  a  cocked  hat  the  greatest  refinements  of  the 
engineer  and  track-layer. 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


On  a  double-track  road  it  is  well  to  have  tht  curves  so  laid 
out  as  to  allow  cars  to  pass  each  other  on  them,  although  on 
most  roads  there  is  a  rule  against  it,  both  on  account  of  the 
greater  liability  to  accidents,  as  well  as  to  prevent  a  heavy 


FIG.  112.— DIAGRAM  SHOWING  OVERHANG  ON  A  PAIR  OF  SIMPLE 

CURVES. 

drain  on  the  power  station.  But  to  meet  the  cases  where  rules 
are  not  always  followed,  as  well  as  where  there  are  none,  col- 
lisions of  cars  may  be  prevented  by  a  little  more  care  in  de- 
signing the  curves.  In  working  out  an  easement  for  any  given 
case,  the  outside  dimensions  and  wheel  base  of  all  cars  to  be 
used  must  be  determined.  The  most  convenient  method  of 
plotting  the  curves  is  to  have  the  outline  of  a  car's  horizontal 


SPECIAL  WORK.      CURVES. 


63 


projection  cut  from  cardboard  or  transparent  celluloid,  with 
the  position  of  the  center  of  the  axles  shown,  or  the  center  of 
trucks  in  the  case  of  double-truck  cars.  Having  laid  down  a 
curve  with  its  center  line,  the  space  that  the  car  will  occupy 


FIG.  113. — DIAGRAM  SHOWING  COMPOUND  CURVES. 

will  be  found  by  placing  the  template  at  successive  positions  on 
the  curve  and  marking  the  outer  corners  and  the  inner  side  at 
the  center.  Fig.  112  very  clearly  shows  the  overhang  on  a  pair 
of  simple  curves.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  clearance  at 
the  center,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  curves  are  not  concentric — 
a  very  common  way  of  laying  curves.  But  at  the  ends  the 
cars  overlap,  and  if  they  attempted  to  pass  each  other  at  those 
points  there  would  be  a  collision.  In  Fig.  113  it  is  shown  how 


64  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

it  is  possible  to  compound  the  curves  to  obtain  clearance  all 
the  way.  In  this  diagram  note  that  the  compound  curve  has 
the  same  position  at  the  center  as  the  simple  curve,  and  will 
therefore  fit  the  same  location.  To  obtain  this  it  was  neces- 
sary to  cut  down  the  center  radius  but  5  ft.  The  car  used  is 
a  33-ft.  body  on  a  six-wheeled  "radial"  truck.  But  the 
principle  involved  is  the  same  with  any  cars.  If  cars  of  more 
than  one  kind  are  to  be  used,  of  course  they  should  all  be 
tried  and  a  curve  found  that  will  suit  all.  This  method  may 
also  be  used  to  great  advantage  in  laying  out  car-house  curves, 
locating  posts  and  poles,  or  to  clear  any  fixed  obstruction. 

The  several  factors  that  enter  into  the  problem  of  overhang 
and  car  clearance  are: 

The  length  and  width  of  cars  and  the  shape  of  their  ends; 

The  wheel  base ; 

The  distance  between  track  centers  on  tangent ; 

The  curvature; 

The  elevation  of  one  rail  above  the  other. 

In  addition  to  the  first  two,  which  relate  to  the  car,  should 
be  mentioned  the  rigidity  with  which  the  body  is  attached  to 
the  trucks  laterally.  If  there  is  any  swing  of  car  body  there 
will  be  danger  where  small  clearances  have  been  figured  on ; 
but  this  is  largely  under  the  control  of  the  motorman. 

The  third  item,  or  distance  between  trucks,  plays  a  very 
important  part,  not  only  on  curves,  but  on  straight  track.  A 
very  common  distance  on  standard  (4  ft.  8|  in.)  gage  is  4  ft. 
from  back  to  back  of  head,  giving  about  9'-0|"  center  to 
center.  With  ordinary  cars  this  gives  a  clearance  on  straight 
track  of  12  in.  to  18  in.,  and  reduces  possible  clearances  on 
curves  to  a  minimum.  Cars  measuring  8  ft.  and  over  in 
width  are  coming  into  use,  while  open  cars  with  running 
boards  are  even  wider;  and  with  people  standing  on  the  step, 
there  would  be  a  clearance  of  about  6  in.,  which  is  entirely  too 
small.  It  is  suggested  that  a  distance  on  centers  of  not  less 
than  10  ft.  be  used.  To  be  sure,  this  adds  nearly  550  sq.  yds. 
of  pavement  per  mile  to  be  laid  and  maintained,  but  the  com- 
pany will  be  fully  repaid  in  the  added  security  to  its  passen- 
gers and  cars.  In  cases  where  the  railway  company  is  made 


SPECIAL   WOKK.      CURVES. 


65 


responsible  for  the  pavement  over  the  entire  width  of  street 
this  question  of  additional  cost  will  not  arise.     Where  center- 

n  0  o  o  0  0 

Q  n,  to  *  in  (On 


°  ^ 


pole  construction  is  used,  the  center-to-center  distance  should 
be  not  less  than  12  ft.,  and  then  care  should  be  exercised  not 
to  have  a  pole  anywhere  near  a  curve. 


66  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

A  large  percentage  of  the  short-radius  curves  are  required 
for  angles  approximating  90  degs.,  and  the  accompanying 
diagram  (Fig.  114)  will  be  found  of  much  value  in  selecting 
the  proper  curve  to  be  used. 

The  curved  lines  indicate  the  inside  rail  of  a  single-track 
curve,  and  the  edge  of  the  diagram  the  center  lines  of  track. 
To  illustrate  its  use,  suppose  we  have  to  pass  around  a  corner 
with  a  double-track  curve;  the  streets  are  40  ft.  and  60  ft* 
between  curbs,  and  the  tracks  are  10  ft.  between  centers, 
making  the  center  of  the  track  in  one  case  15  ft.  and  the 
other  25  ft.  from  the  curb.  Following  the  15-ft.  and  25-ft. 
lines  to  their  intersection,  we  find  it  to  be  just  inside  of  a  60- 
ft.-radius  curve;  showing  that  to  be  the  largest  radius  that 
could  be  used  in  the  given  case. 

In  designing  curves  there  are  numerous  other  things  to 
consider,  chief  among  which  are  sewer  and  water  manholes. 
The  position  of  the  former  may  often  be  changed  by  going 
down  three  or  four  feet  and  building  up  on  a  slant.  It  is 
seldom  possible,  however,  to  alter  a  water  manhole  or  stop- 
cock plug,  and  they  sometimes  prove  annoying,  and  require 
some  nice  work  in  compounding.  Then  there  are  sewer 
intakes,  lamp-posts,  telegraph,  telephone,  and  electric-light 
poles,  and  the  shape  of  the  curb  corner  itself,  and  the 
question  of  dodging  or  removing  them  to  be  settled.  The 
direction  of  flow  and  amount  of  surface  drainage  should  also 
be  considered,  for  it  will  not  do  to  obstruct  or  divert  it  to  the 
damage  of  abutting  property.  All  of  these  points  require  the 
careful  consideration  of  an  engineer. 

On  curves  of  300  ft.  radius,  and  under,  it  is  not  safe  to  de- 
pend entirely  on  the  bearing  of  the  flange  aga;nst  the  gage 
line  of  the  outer  rail  to  keep  the  cars  on  the  track,  and  a 
guard-rail  on  the  inner  or  short  side  of  the  curve  should  be 
used.  The  guard  is  from  £  in.  to  |  in.  higher  than  the  head 
of  the  rail,  and  with  its  broader  bearing  against  the  back  of 
the  inside  wheel-flange  prevents  derailment.  Theie  are  many 
who  think  that  curves  from  about  100  ft.  radius  down  should 
have  a  guard  on  the  outer  or  long  side  as  well,  on  the  ground 
that  the  rear  wheels  have  a  tendency  to  run  off  on  the  inside  of 


SPECIAL  WOKK.      CURVES. 


67 


the  curve.  There  is  such  a  tendency,  but  it  is  so  slight  and 
so  nearly  overcome  by  other  forces  that  it  does  not  require 
the  services  of  an  outer  guard  to  keep  them  on.  An  experi- 
ence with  several  thousand  curves  built  with  single  guard  and 
used  by  cars  of  all  conditions  and  gages  has  tended  to  con- 
firm this  latter  proposition.  There  are  two  decided  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  the  use  of  but  one  guard,  namely,  a  sav- 
ing in  first  cost  of  the  curve,  and  a  continual  saving  in  power 
required  to  move  cars  around  the  curve,  due  to  an  avoidance 
of  additional  flange  friction. 

Fig.  115  shows  very  clearly  the  position  a  rigid  four-wheel 


FIG.  115.— DIAGRAM  SHOWING  POSITION  OF  RIGID  FOUR  WHEEL 
TRUCK  ON  CURVE. 

truck  assumes  in  traversing  a  curve.  The  shaded  portion  of 
each  flange  represents  that  which  is  below  the  top  of  the  head 
of  the  rail,  and  the  black  portion  of  same  the  part  of  the 
flange  in  contact  with  the  rail,  the  arrow  indicating  the  direc- 
tion of  travel.  The  truck  is  guided  almost  entirely  by  the 
inner  front  wheel  (1),  and  the  flange  of  its  mate  (2)  is  in  con- 
tact only  when  the  gage  of  track  and  truck  permit.  Wel- 
lington shows  that  when  not  restrained  by  the  flanges,  the  rear 
pair  of  wheels  will  follow  the  forward  pair  in  the  manner 
shown  in  "Fig.  116,  i.e.,  with  the  rear  axle  on  a  radial  line.  On 
a  35-ft.-radius  curve  the  distance  of  the  rear  wheels  from  the 
gage  line  would  be  about  7  in.,  and  on  a  100-ft.  curve  2£ 
in.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  the  duty  imposed  on  the 


68 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


rear-wheel  flange  is  simply  to  keep  that  portion  of  the  truck  a 
few  inches  away  from  its  normal  position — a  condition  that 
may  be  illustrated  by  a  pendulum  held  to  one  side  by  the 
pressure  of  a  finger.  As  the  angular  distance  is  small,  so  is 
the  force  required  but  a  small  percentage  of  the  weight  of  the 


FIG.  116. — DIAGRAM  SHOWING  POSITION  OP  RIGID  FOUR-WHEEL 
TRUCK  ON  CURVE. 

pendulum.  Now  if  the  pendulum  be  swung  in  a  circle  about 
its  normal  position,  the  centrifugal  force  will  sustain  it  away 
from  the  vertical.  So  with  a  car,  while  the  tendency  of  the 
rear  wheels  to  climb  the  inner  rail  is  comparatively  small  of 
itself,  it  is  counteracted  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent,  depend- 
ing on  the  speed,  by  the  centrifugal  force  acting  through  the 
car.  All  of  which  goes  to  show  that  an  outer  guard-rail  is 
more  of  a  hinderance  than  a  necessity. 

Within  the  last  three  years  the  form  of  the  groove  in  guard- 
rails has  undergone  a  decided  improvement.  There  are  shown 
herewith  the  three  sections  of  solid  guard-rails  in  use  at  the 
present  time  (Figs.  117, 118, 119).  The  idea  in  all  is  to  have  a 
form  of  groove  that  will  best  fit  the  wheel-flange  and  present 
its  full  face  to  the  wear  of  the  flange.  Since  the  exact  shape 
of  the  groove  depends  upon  the  size  and  shape  of  the  wheel- 
flange,  the  diameter  of  the  wheel,  the  wheel  base,  and  the 
radius  of  the  curve — all  variable  factors — it  is  manifestly  im- 
possible to  have  a  different  guard-rail  to  suit  every  condition. 


SPECIAL  WORK.      CURVES. 


69 


The  manufacturers  have  therefore  settled  on  a  form  which  is 
best  suited  to  the  average  conditions.     A  careful  comparison 


FIG.  118. 
SECTIONS  OF  SOLID  GUARD-RAILS. 


of  the  figures  will  show  that  there  is  practically  no  difference 
in  the  contour  of  the  groove.     As  the  shape  of  the  groove  was 


70 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


determined  in  a  different  way  by  each,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
the  closeness  of  the  results.  The  method  pursued  by  No.  3 
was  to  fill  the  groove  of  an  old  curve  with  plaster  of  Paris  or 
clay  and  run  a  car  around,  noting  the  form  of  groove  made  by 


FIG.  119. — SECTION  OF  SOLID  GUARD-RAIL. 

both  front  and  rear  wheels,  and  a  number  of  trials  were  made 
under  different  conditions.  The  manner  in  which  No.  2  made 
the  determination  was  by  the  use  of  quarter-size  models  which 
were  pivoted  to  a  fixed  center  an'd  run  over  a  clay  track.  Sec- 
tions of  the  groove  formed  were  carefully  cut  and  dried,  and 
the  final  section  was  the  result  of  a  large  number  of  observa- 
tions. The  test  is  more  fully  described  in  the  Street  Railway 
Journal  for  June,  1895,  page  399.  No.  1  was  determined  by 
observation  of  numerous  worn  guard-rails,  from  which  wooden 
templates  were  taken  and  compared.  It  was  noticed  that,  no 
matter  what  the  original  form  of  the  groove  had  been,  the 
worn  groove  assumed  a  definite  shape,  depending  largely  on 
the  radius  of  the  curve.  On  each  section  is  shown  in  dotted 
lines  the  portion  worn  away  in  service.  The  shape  of  the  worn 
groove  was  taken  by  a  template  from  a  curve  in  use,  and  it  is 
assumed  that  when  the  groove  is  worn  to  a  width  of  2  in.,  and 
the  head  cut  down  T6^  in.,  it  is  time  to  renew.  A  study  of 
these  three  sections  will  show  that  there  is  a  great  waste  of 


SPECIAL  WORK.      CURVES.  71 

metal  in  the  guard  of  No.  2  and  No.  3.  When  the  wear  has 
reached  the  point  indicated  by  the  broken  line  the  guard-rai 
has  about  served  its  usefulness  and  should  be  renewed.  They 
are  all  of  about  equal  strength  as  to  the  guard  turning  out, 
and  any  more  metal  than  shown  by  No.  1  adds  nothing  but 
so  much  more  scrap  to  be  thrown  away. 

After  all  it  seems  rather  absurd  to  use  many  refinements  in 
designing  a  guard  rail  groove  when  one  of  the  main  factors — 
the  shape  of  the  wheel  flange — is  so  variable,  as  is  clearly 


FIG.  120. — DIAGRAM  SHOWING  DIFFERENCES  IN  SECTIONS  OF 
WHEEL-FLANGES  AND  TREADS. 

shown  by  Fig.  120 — a  composite  of  sixteen  wheel  treads  and 
flanges  placed  with  their  gages  coincident.  These  sections 
were  taken  by  templates  from  wheels  in  service.  The  largest 
and  smallest  were  found  on  the  same  road. 


CHAPTER]  VII. 

GUARD-KAILS.^[SPECIAL~"WORK. 

IT  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  tcTdetermine  graphi- 
cally the  shape  of  groove  in  a  guard-rail,  having  given  the 


FIG.  121. — SECTION  OP  RAIL  AND  WHEEL-FLANGE. 

flange,  diameter  of  wheel,  radius  of  curve,  and  wheel  base. 
By  reversing  the  operation  the  maximum  flange  may  be  found 
that  will  pass  through  any  groove,  having  given  the  radius, 

72 


GUARD-BAILS.      SPECIAL  WORK. 


73 


wheel  base,  etc.  It  was  by  such  a  process  that  the  flange 
shown  in  Fig.  121  was  developed.  The  guard-rail  taken  is 
section  No.  208  of  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  and  the 
broken  line  shows  the  limits  of  the  space  in  the  groove  occu- 
pied by  the  flange  on  a  thirty-five-foot-radius  curve.  The 
flange  which  the  groove  will  allow  to  pass  on  such  a  short- 
radius  curve,  it  will  be  noted,  is  about  as  large  as  any  in  use. 
The  conditions  on  curves  of  longer  radii  being  more  favorable, 
the  flange  will  pass  them  freely.  The  section  of  rail  and 
wheel-flange  shown  in  Fig.  121  also  gives  us  a  clue  to  the 
proper  gage  of  tracks  to  be  used  on  curves — a  very  much 
mooted  question.  It  may  be  well  to  explain  that  in  this 
figure  the  plane  in  which  the  wheel  section  is  shown  has  been 
turned  so  as  to  coincide  with  the  plane  in  which  the  rail 
section  is  projected,  the  line  of  intersection  of  the  two  planes 
being  the  vertical  line  from  the  wheel  gage.  Therefore 
the  relative  position  of  gage  of  wheel  and  gage  of  rail  is  the 
same  as  on  a  curve,  the  distance  between  them  being  -fe  in.  in 
the  case  of  a  thirty-five-foot-radius  curve.  Keferring  now  to 
the  diagram  (Fig.  122),  the  distance,  ac,  between  the  gage 


FIG.  122. — DIAGRAM  FOR  FINDING  THE  GAGE  LINES. 

lines  of  the  rails  along  the  axle  is  easily  figured,  and  for  4  ft. 
8£  in.  gage  on  a  35-ft.-radius  curve  is  4  ft.  8f  in.  Assum- 
ing that  the  wheels  have  been  placed  on  the  axles  to  gage 
i  in.  less  than  the  track,  as  is  customary,  or  4  ft.  8£  in.,  and 
adding  T\  in.  (twice  the  distance  between  gages  in  Fig.  121) 
we  have  4  ft.  8^J  in.,  or  T\  in.  less  than  the  distance  ac. 
This  would  indicate  that  the  track  should  be  that  much  tight 
gage  on  a  thirty-five-foot-radius  curve.  On  longer-radius 
curves  the  angle  formed  by  the  axle  and  a  radial  line  through 


74 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


one  end  is  less;  therefore  the  wheel-flange  has  more  play,  the 
distance  ac  approaches  the  gage,  and  there  is  less  reason 
for  changing  the  gage  from  that  used  in  straight  track. 
The  old  theory  that  the  curved  gage  should  be  increased 
£  in.,  or  any  amount,  should  be  abandoned,  and  practically 
has  been. 

Besides  the  various  forms  of  "  solid  "  guard-rails  shown  in 
Figs.  38,  46,  117,  119,  121,  etc.,  there  are  several  styles  of 
compound  guard-rails,  the  four  principal  ways  of  making 
them  being  shown  by  Figs.  123  to  126.  The  use  of  these  is 


FIG.  125.  FIG.  126. 

WAYS;*OP  MAKING  GUARD-RAILS. 

limited  mostly  to  T-rail  construction.  That  shown  in  Fig. 
123,  the  one  now  generally  used,  was  first  devised  and  used 
by  the  writer.  Its  virtue  lies  in  the  ease  with  which  it  is 
adapted  to  a  large  variety  of  T-rail  sections,  and  that  the 
groove  has  a  floor  which  prevents  buggy-wheels  going  down 


GUARD-RAILS.      SPECIAL    WORK. 


75 


too  deep.  The  section  Fig.  124  has  the  same  qualities  with 
the  added  advantage  of  a  larger  base  and  being  more  sub- 
stantial generally;  but  it  is  more  expensive,  as  the  rail  which 


FIG.  127  —PLAIN  CURVE.     FIG.  128.— LEFT  HAND  BRANCH-OFF. 

i 


^J 


FIG.  129.— RIGHT  HAND  BRANCH-      FIG.  130. — CONNECTING  CURVE 
OFF.  AND  CROSSING. 


FIG.  131.— PLAIN  Y. 


FIG.  132.— CROSSING. 


forms  the  guard  has  to  be  cut  out  on  a  planer,  i.e.,  machine 
fitted  for  each  particular  case;  while  the  guard  on  Fig.  123 
may  be,  and  is,  rolled  in  large  quantities.  None  of  these  com- 
bination guards  are  as  satisfactory  as  the  solid  sections,  which 


76 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


L... 


FIG  183. — THREE  PART  V. 


1 

FIG.  184. — THHEE-PART  THROUGH  Y. 


FIG.  135. — REVERSE  CURVE. 


FIG.  136.— RIGHT  HAND  CROSS-OVER. 


FIG.  137.— LEFT  HAND  CROSS-OVER. 


GUARD-RAILS.      SPECIAL  WORK. 


77 


latter,  however,  are  used  only  on  work  of  six  inches  and  over. 
There  are  a  few  solid  guard  sections  under  six  inches,  but  the 
fishing  space  is  so  greatly  reduced  on  the  guard  side  that  it  is 
impossible  to  make  a  substantial  joint,  and  they  are  but  little 
used. 

Before  going  deeper  into  the  question  of  special  work  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  illustrate  the  various  simple  layouts, 
giving  the  names  most  generally  used.  See  Figs.  125  to  141. 
The  illustrations  show  single-track  work  entirely.  Double- 
track  layouts  have  the  same  names  with  the  prefix  "  double 
track,"  and  it  is  customary  in  all  cases  to  describe  them  by  the 


FIG.  138. — DIAMOND  TURNOUT. 


FIG.  139.— SIDE  TURNOUT. 


FIG.  140.— THROWN  OVER  TURNOUT. 

initial  letters;  for  instance,  S.  T.  E.  H.  B.  0.,  meaning  single 
track,  right-hand  branch  of.  The  "hand"  is  always  deter- 
mined by  the  side  to  which  the  curve  turns  off  as  shown  to  a 
person  facing  the  point  of  curve.  There  are  many  other  pecu- 
liar and  complex  arrangements  of  tracks  to  which  no  specific 
names  can  be  given  except  the  general  term  "special  work." 
Outside  of  the  curves  the  pieces  which  go  to  make  up  a  job 
of  special  work  are  switches,  mates,  and  frogs. 

A  switch  is  a  piece  having  a  movable  part  to  deflect  the  car, 
and  the  one  most  commonly  used  on  street  railways  is  called 
a  tongue  switch.  Split  switches,  Lorenz  switches,  and  stub 
switches  are  also  used,  as  on  steam  roads,  but  only  in  open 
track  or  car-houses.  A  switch  is  automatic  when  it  is  so 
arranged  that  by  means  of  a  piece  of  rubber  or  a  spring  it  will 


78 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


automatically  return  to  its  former  position  after  allowing  a 
car  to  "  trail "  through.  The  tongue  switch  is  almost  always 
placed  on  the  inner  or  short  side  of  the  curve,  and  when 
placed  in  the  other  position  it  should  be  designated  as  an 
"outside"  tongue  switch.  An  outside  switch  should  not  be 
used  on  curves  of  less  than  150  or  200  ft.  radius  unless  in 
connection  with  an  inside  tongue  switch,  or  in  cases  where 
the  curve  is  used  much  more  than  the  straight  track. 

A  mate  is  a  piece  used  in  connection  with  a  tongue  switch 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  track  and  has  no  movable  parts. 
Corresponding  to  the  tongue  switch,  its  position  is  on  the  out- 


kvwj          Uv~J 


FIG.  141.— SPRING  FROG  FOR  OPEN  TRACK. 

side  of  the  curve,  and  when  otherwise  placed  is  called  an 
" inside"  mate. 

A  frog  is  the  intersection  of  any  two  lines  of  rails.  Except 
in  open  track,  frogs  have  no  movable  parts,  the  endeavor 
usually  being  to  make  them  as  rigid  as  possible.  In  cross- 
overs which  are  used  only  for  emergency  and  at  points  where 
the  track  in  one  direction  is  little  used  the  main  line  or 
rail  of  the  frog  is  usually  made  ' ( unbroken,"  i.e.,  with  no 
flangeway  for  the  crossing  rail.  The  wheel  is  made  to  climb 
over  the  head  of  the  main  rail  by  inclines  on  each  side.  In 
open  track  the  same  thing  is  accomplished  in  a  better  way  by 
a  "spring  frog"  in  which  the  main  line  is  practically 
unbroken  and  the  wheel  in  taking  the  side  track  opens  its 
flangeway  by  pressing  out  the  spring  rail.  (See  Fig.  141.) 

Frogs,  switches,  and  mates  are  the  vital  parts  of  special 
work,  and  there  are  many  ways  of  making  them.  In  the 
days  of  the  light,  slow-going  horse-car  they  were  made  almost 


GUARD-RAILS.       SPECIAL   WORK.  79 

universally  of  cast  iron.  Now  that  metal  is  used  but  very 
little,  except  in  a  manner  to  be  described  below.  Until  within 
the  last  two  or  three  years  these  parts  were  mostly  built  of 
the  rails  themselves.  This  construction  is  used  exclusively 
on  steam  roads,  but  there  the  conditions  are  altogether  differ- 
ent from  street  railways.  The  tracks  being  exposed,  repairs 
and  renewals  are  easily  and.  cheaply  made.  But  with  the 
track  buried  in  pavements  in  busy  streets  their  renewal  is  a 
serious  and  expensive  matter,  and  the  longer  life  there  is  in  a 
frog  the  more  valuable  it  becomes.  For  this  reason  there  is 
a  constant  effort  to  improve  on  their  construction,  with  the 
result  that  now  we  have  three  different  types  of  first-class 
construction,  viz.,  "  Manganese,"  "Guarantee,"  and  "Ada- 
mantine Steel." 

As  stated  above,  cast-iron  switch-pieces  have  been  aban- 
doned. They  do  not  possess  the  necessary  durability  for  even 
the  lightest  kind  of  electric-car  traffic;  nor  is  there  any  suit- 
able way  of  joining  the  several  frogs  together  or  to  rails. 
Built  work,  if  well  and  properly  done,  answers  the  purpose 
very  well  for  roads  of  moderate  traffic.  A  built  frog  should 
last  on  a  road  running  fifteen-minute  headway  about  ten 
years;  when  it  is  easy  to  figure  that  under  a  minute  headway 
its  life  would  be  less  than  a  year.  The  writer  is  familiar  with 
built  work  that  has  given  very  much  better  service  than  this. 

Managers  should  not  complain  if  they  are  compelled  to 
renew  built  frogs  within  a  year  or  two  when  placed  under 
heavy  traffic.  Their  steam-road  brethren  have  to  renew  frogs 
every  three  or  four  weeks  in  places  where  the  number  of 
movements  over  them  do  not  exceed  those  in  many  places  on 
cable  or  electric  roads.  Fig.  142  shows  the  detail  of  a  built 
frog  for  a  square  or  "girder  crossing."  The  parts  of  a  built 
frog  are  two  or  three  pieces  of  rail,  four  angle-plates,  or 
braces  (on  small  angles  two  of  these  are  replaced  by  cast-iron 
chocks),  making  seven  large  pieces,  all  of  which  are  held 
together  with  from  ten  to  thirty  bolts  and  rivets.  A  renew- 
able tempered  steel  floor-plate  is  often  used,  and  this  will  pro- 
long the  life  of  the  frog  two  or  three  times  its  normal  length — 
if  care  is  taken  to  renew  the  floor-plate  before  the  points  are 


80 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


too  much  worn.  There  has  been  used  a  rail  section  with  solid 
floor  for  building  frogs  which  adds  something  to  the  life  of  a 
frog;  but  since  the  floor  is  of  the  same  steel  as  the  rail,  it 
does  not  offer  much  resistance  to  the  cutting  action  of  the 
wheel-flanges,  and  when  worn  there  is  no  way  of  repairing  the 
frog.  A  very  good  tongue  switch  may  be  built  of  rails,  and 
if  the  radius  is  not  too  short  it  will  have  a  longer  life  than 
the  frogs  in  the  same  job.  T  rails  are  particularly  well 
adapted  to  building  switches  and  frogs. 


FIG.  142.— A  "  BUILT"  FROG. 

The  mate  is  the  most  difficult  piece  to  build  substantially, 
from  the  fact  that  there  is  necessarily  a  considerable  distance 
where  the  wheels  have  to  be  carried  on  their  flanges  entirely. 
These  rapidly  cut  into  the  floor,  with  the  result  that  the  outer 
edge  of  the  wheel-tread  cuts  into  the  head  of  the  main  rail 
at  the  point  where  it  leaves,  and  pounds  down  the  point  of 
the  mate.  This  has  resulted  in  the  use  to  some  extent  of  a 
"tongue  mate,"  or  mate  with  a  movable  tongue.  This  tongue 
mate  is  not  objectionable  on  a  running-off  end,  but  when  used 
facing  it  is  almost  imperative  that  some  form  of  connection 
be  used  between  the  tongue  of  the  mate  and  the  tongue  of 
the  switch  so  they  shall  work  in  unison,  usually  a  simple  con- 
necting rod  placed  in  a  cast-iron  box  extending  entirely 
across  the  track.  This]  box  without  ample  drainage  is  liable 


GUAKD-KAILS.       SPECIAL   WORK.  81 

to  become  filled  with  dirt  in  summer  and  ice  in  winter,  and 
requires  constant  attention — a  feature  which  renders  its  use 
objectionable. 

These  latter  remarks  apply  with  equal  force  to  all  kinds  of 
so-called  automatic  arrangements  or  other  mechanisms  which 
have  to  be  placed  underground.  On  cable  or  conduit  electric 
roads  where  the  drainage  is  well  provided  for,  underground 
machinery  is  used  without  special  objection,  but  on  surface 
roads  it  should  not  be  used  without  a  good  sewer  connection 
and  frequent  inspection. 

Special  work  of  the  first  class  as  made  to-day  is  comprised 
in  the  three  types  known  as  "Manganese,"  "Guarantee,"  and 
"Adamantine."  The  first  of  these  is  shown  in  the  typical 
frog  Fig  143,  which  is  composed  of  four  short  pieces  of  rail 


Street  Ry .Journal 

FIG.  143. — A  "MANGANESE"  FROG. 

held  to  a  center  piece,  which  is  a  casting  of  manganese  steel, 
by  means  of  a  mass  of  cast  iron  at  each  joint.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  that  the  frog  is  composed  of  six  separate  and 
distinct  pieces.  A  late  modification  of  this  construction  has 
the  four  small  pieces  of  rail  held  together  by  a  single  mass  of 
cast  iron  in  which  is  cored  a  pocket  to  receive  the  center  cast- 
ing, which  is  much  reduced  in  size,  and  which  is  held  in  place 
by  bolts  or  wedges. 

"  Guarantee"  special  work,  so  called  from  the  fact  that  the 
manufacturer  sold  certain  guarantees  with  it,  is  made  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  later  form  of  manganese  work,  except 
that  the  center  pieces  are  made  of  tempered  steel,  and  are 
retained  in  the  pocket  by  means  of  zinc.  It  was  originally 
intended  that  these  pieces  should  be  renewable  without  dis. 


82 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


turbing  the  main  body  of  the  frog  in  its  bed  in  the  pavement. 
But  the  difficulty  of  making  anything  like  a  good  fit  after  the 
adjacent  parts  of  the  frog  had  become  worn  has  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  "renewable"  feature  in  all  special 
work.  Guarantee  frogs  are  peculiar  also  in  a  very  generous 
use  of  cast  iron.  (See  Fig.  144.) 


FIG.  144. — A  "  GUAKANTEE  "  FROG. 

In  "Adamantine"  or  "Solid  Cast  Steel"  special  work,  as 
its  name  implies,  the  switch-pieces  are  castings  of  open-hearth 
steel,  and  each  frog,  switch,  or  mate  is  one  solid  piece  of  steel. 


FIG.  145.— AN  "ADAMANTINE"  FROG. 

Large  strides  in  advance  have  been  made  in  the  manufacture 
of  open-hearth  steel  during  the  past  seven  years,  and  it  is  now 
possible  to  produce  castings  of  the  most  intricate  shape  of  a 
fine  tough  quality  of  steel.  Fig.  145  is  a  sample,  and  shows 


GUARD-RAILS.      SPECIAL   WORK.  83 

three  frogs  combined  in  one  piece.  The  points  most  subject 
to  wear  are  protected  by  pieces  of  a  special  steel  which  is  at 
the  same  time  exceedingly  hard  and  tough.  These  pieces,  or 
"centers,"  are  placed  in  the  moulds  and  the  main  body  of  the 
frog  cast  around  them.  The  contraction  of  the  steel  in  the 
cooling  holds  them  with  a  vise-like  grip  which  never  releases. 
Special  work  of  the  first  class,  while  expensive  in  first  cost, 
is  by  far  the  most  economical  in  the  end,  for  not  only  will 
work  of  this  class  outlast  built  work  from  two  to  four  times, 
but  it  saves  the  large  cost  of  more  frequent  renewals  and  re- 
pairs. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DISCUSSION     OF    THE    ADVANTAGE    OF    SPIRAL    CURVES,   AND 
TABLES   AND   FORMULA    FOR   THEIR   USES. 

WITH  the  higher  speeds  and  larger  cars  which  the  advent 
of  the  electric  railway  brought  in  street-railway  work,  the 
necessity  of  some  sort  of  easement  curve,  for  the  short  radii 
required,  very  early  became  evident.  The  question  as  to  its 
form  has  generally  been  considered  as  if  the  paths  followed  by 
all  parts  of  the  car  were  necessarily  somewhat  similar  to  the 
alignment  of  the  track.  This  has  led  many  engineers  to 
believe  that  a  three-centered  curve  was  sufficient  for  practical 
purposes,  besides  being  somewhat  easier  to  design  and  calcu- 
late. This  assumption  as  to  the  path  of  the  car  is  only  true 
as  to  the  small  portion  of  the  car  which  lies  between  the  two 
axles  or  the  center  pins  of  a  double-truck  car.  The  parts  of 
the  car  outside  of  this  area  describe  rather  peculiar  paths,  as 
is  shown  on  the  engravings  herewith. 

Fig.  146  is  a  case  which  the  writer  has  seen  repeated  many 
times  in  the  last  few  years.  The  curve  is  primarily  designed 
to  enable  cars  to  pass  each  other  on  a  double-track  curve,  but 
is  also  supposed  to  act  as  an  easement.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
there  are  four  changes  in  the  direction  of  rotation  of  the 
point  Ay  and  also  four  abrupt  changes  in  the  rate  of  rotation 
of  the  point  B.  It  should  be  understood  that  the  radii  given 
for  the  short  arcs  in  these  paths  are  only  given  in  order  to 
convey  an  idea  of  the  sharpness  of  curvature  at  these  points, 
as  these  arcs  would  not  be  exactly  circular,  although  nearly  so. 
These  changes  of  direction  in  the  path  of  A  will  occur  at  any 
P.  C.  C.  of  a  three-centered  curve,  if  the  first  radius  is  suffi- 
ciently long  to  be  of  any  use  in  preventing  the  jar  of  striking 
the  P.  C.  of  the  curve.  The  sudden  changes  in  the  rate  of 

84 


ADVANTAGE   OF   SPIRAL   CURVES. 


85 


rotation  of  the  point  B  will  be  found  to  occur  at  every  P.  C.  C. 
of  a  compound  curve  unless  it  is  of  the  form  of  the  railway 
spiral  with  chords  of  a  length  shorter  than  the  wheel  base  of 
the  car. 

Fig.  147  shows  exactly  the  same  main  curve  shown  in  Fig. 
146,   but  connected  with   the  tangent  by  a  spiral  of   seven 


chords  having  the  following  radii  :  300,  150,  100,  75,  60,  50, 
and  40.  The  "spiral"  is  somewhat  forced  on  the  last  radius 
in  order  to  keep  the  center  of  the  curve  in  exactly  the  same 
position  while  at  .the  same  time  maintaining  the  same  car 


86  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

clearance.  The  track  curve  does  not  vary  in  position  at  the  center 
of  the  spiral  more  than  4  in.  from  that  shown  in  Fig.  146. 

Note  that  there  are  but  two  changes  in  the  direction  of 
rotation  of  the  point  A.  One  of  these  is  at  the  point  where 
A  leaves  the  tangent,  from  which  there  is  a  gradually  de- 
creasing curvature  until  it  reaches  the  point  of  reverse  curva- 
ture. From  this  point  the  curvature  increases  gradually  until 
the  point  A  attains  its  maximum  rate  of  rotation  parallel  to 
the  main  curve.  The  rate  of  decrease  and  increase  of  curva- 
ture for  both  these  arcs  is  somewhat  less  than  that  for  the 
track  curve.  The  point  B  also  describes  a  curve  with  gradu- 
ally increasing  curvature  until  it  reaches  its  maximum  rate  of 
rotation  and  follows  the  same  path  as  A.  The  rate  of  increase 
of  curvature  would  be  somewhat  greater  than  that  of  the  track 
curve. 

The  car  shown  in  these  figures  is  by  no  means  an  extremely 
long  car,  as  there  are  other  cars  known  to  the  writer  which 
are  30  ft.  long,  and  others  proposed  which  will  be  38  ft.  long 
and  with  only  6  ft.  6  in.  wheel  base.  The  overhang  of  a  double- 
truck  car  is  nearly  always  as  much  as  that  shown  in  the 
figures.  The  sudden  changes  of  motion  shown  in  Fig.  146 
exert  a  severe  racking  strain  on  the  car  framing  which  is 
particularly  destructive  to  open  cars,  as  the  connection  between 
roof  and  floor  framing  is  necessarily  weak.  The  effect  on  the 
passengers  is  not  pleasant,  although  this  does  not  appeal  so 
directly  to  the  treasury  of  the  railway.  The  plan  shown  in 
Fig.  146  would  cost  for  material  about  $12  more  than  Fig.  146, 
when  caedit  is  given  for  the  straight  track  replaced  by  the 
extra- curve  of  the  spiral,  and  would  cost  that  much  only  for 
the  most  expensive  track  in  use  for  surface  roads. 

The  use  of  spirals  has  been  largely  delayed  by  the  absence 
of  any  tables  and  formulae  for  spirals  suitable  for  street-rail- 
way speeds  and  curvature.  Those  presented  herewith  have 
been  in  use  for  some  two  years  or  more,  and  are  the  final 
results  of  a  number  of  other  forms  which  have  been  tried 
through  a  period  of  about  five  years. 

This  form  has  given  universal  satisfaction,  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  tables  present  sufficient  variety  for  most  cases  arising 


ADVANTAGE   OF   SPIRAL  CURVES.  87 

in  usual  practice.  Table  I  gives  a  choice  of  50  spirals  for 
curves  of  radii  from  30  ft.  to  1785  ft.  In  case  a  special  spiral 
is  desired  for  any  reason,  these  may  be  modified  by  multiply- 
ing by  a  suitable  factor,  in  the  same  way  that  spirals  Nos.  1  and 
2  have  been  obtained  from  spirals  Nos.  4  and  5.  Spiral  No.  3 
was  designed  as  the  spiral  of  shortest  length  to  enable  a  certain 
double-truck  car  to  pass  on  a  double-track  curve. 

While  the  car  used  for  this  purpose  was  one  of  the  largest 
double-truck  cars  in  use  on  surface  roads  in  the  East,  this 
should  be  carefully  tried  with  the  car  in  use  on  the  road  in 
question,  as  indeed  it  must  necessarily  be  in  order  to  select  a 
radius  for  the  outer  curve.  Substantially  the  same  chord 
length  was  carried  throughout  the  system  with  a  view  to  ease 
in  giving  the  necessary  information  to  the  track-layers. 

At  switches  it  is  mechanically  undesirable  to  have  a  greater 
initial  radius  than  100  ft.  This  prevents  the  use  of  a 
theoretical  spiral  at  such  points,  but,  as  shown  in  the  first  part 
of  this  chapter,  some  easement  is  necessary  between  the  long- 
radius  switch  and  the  main  curve  of  shorter  radius.  The 
most  desirable  form  for  this  easement  appears  to  be  that  por- 
tion of  a  theoretical  spiral  which  lies  between  the  switch 
radius  and  the  radius  of  the  main  curve. 

Table  II  was  prepared  in  this  way,  and  the  choice  of 
easements  was  made  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  the 
standardization  of  the  crossing  frogs.  The  latter  is  very 
desirable  for  such  constructions  as  require  the  making  of 
special  patterns  for  frogs. 

This  table  gives  a  choice  of  forty-eight  easements  for  twelve 
different  radii  from  30  ft.  to  70  ft.  radius  of  center  line.  For 
radii  greater  than  this  no  easement  is  necessary  between  the 
switch  radius  of  100  ft.  and  the  main  curve. 

The  most  satisfactory  way  of  plotting  these  curves  is  to  cut 
out  thin  celluloid  templates  of  each  one  which  is  to  be  used 
Mark  each  P.  C.  C.  of  the  spiral  on  the  curved  edge  and  the 
direction  of  a  radial  line  through  this  point.  Fig.  148. 

Problems  3  and  4  can  generally  be  solved  accurately  enough 
on  a  drawing  made  to  scale  and  in  lesa  time  than  by  calcula- 
tion for  "special"  curves,  as  a  plan  must  be  made  in  any 


88 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


event  in  order  to  have  the  work  made  by  the  manufacturer. 
If  only  a  few  curves  are  to  be  drawn  up,  however,  it  may  be 
more  expeditious  to  figure  the  curve  and  plot  the  points  on 
the  spiral  by  the  x  and  y  taken  from  the  table,  and  connect 
them  with  a  variable  or  "  French  "  curve. 


riu.  1*0. — TEMPLATE  FOR  LAYING  OUT  CURVES. 

The  problems  given  in  this  chapter  contain  all  the  prin- 
ciples necessary  for  laying  out  any  curve  with  symmetrical 
spirals.  The  most  usual  form  'of  unsymmetrical  curve  is 
shown  in  Problem  9,  and  the  application  of  the  latter  will 
enable  any  such  curve  to  be  solved. 

It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  lay  out  on  the  ground  every 
point  on  the  spiral.  If  the  curve  is  "special  work"  and 
curved  by  the  manufacturer,  the  point  of  spiral,  a  point  about 
in  the  center  of  the  spiral,  and  the  junction  of  spiral  with  the 
main  curve  should  be  laid  out.  Points  for  the  latter  should 
be  laid  out  from  20  to  30  ft.  apart,  depending  on  the  radius 
of  the  curve  and  the  location  of  the  joints.  If  the  curve  is  to 
be  "sprung  in"  by  the  track-layers,  every  alternate  point  on 
the  spiral  should  be  laid  out  and  the  track-layer  furnished 
with  sufficient  middle  ordinates  for  10-ft.  chords.  These 
can  be  obtained  by  Problems  10  and  11  and  Table  III.,  p.  132. 

The  most  expeditious  way  to  lay  out  a  spiral  curve,  if  the 
final  x  does  not  exceed  two  feet,  is  to  set  the  transit  on  the 
intersection  point  and  lay  off  the  tangent  distances,  then  lay 
out  sufficient  points  on  the  spirals  by  the  successive  offsets  x 
and  the  long  chords.  Then  bisect  the  included  angle  and  lay 
out  a  temporary  point  V,  Problem  8. 

Move  the  transit  to  the  last  point  on  the  spiral,  set  the 
vernier  to  a  back  reading  equal  to  the  spiral  angle,  set  the 
telescope  on  an  offset  from  V  equal  to  x  inside  the  intersection 
point.  Deflect  to  0°,  and  the  line  of  the  telescope  should 


ADVANTAGE   OF   SPIRAL   CURVES. 


89 


strike  V  and  the  distance  V'L  =  R  tan  (\A  —  S°).   This  will 
check  the  preceding  calculations  and  field-work.  The  circular 
arc  can  then  be  laid  out  in  the  usual  manner. 
PROBLEM  1.  To  select  a  spiral. 

(a)  The  radius  of  the  main  curve  must  be  less  than  the  pre- 
ceding branch  of  the  spiral,  must  be  more  than  the  next 
branch  would  be  were  it  produced, Tand  should  nearly  equal 
the  latter. 

(b)  The  longer  the  spiral,  the  easier  the  entrance  will  be. 
But  bear  in  mind  that  the  main  body  of  the  curve  should  be 
circular,  the  spiral  simply  acting  as  an  entrance  to  it. 

(c)  A  spiral  of  less  than  three  branches  should  not  be  used. 


PROBLEM  2. 


PROBLEM  2.     Given:    A  circular  curve  with  symmetrical 
spirals,  to  find  the  tangent  and  external  distances. 

OG  =  R  +  x  -  ver  sine  8°R  ; 
GS  =  y  -  sine  S°JK  ; 


90 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


Tangent  distance  =  OG  tan  %A  -f  GS; 

External  distance  =  OG  ex  sec  | A  +  a;  —  ver  sine 


PROBLEM  3. 

PROBLEM  3.  Given:  The  tangent  distance  VS,  the  inter- 
section angle  A,  and  the  desired  length  of  [spiral,  to  find  the 
radius  of  the  curve. 

Approximate  R  =  cotangent  %A(  VS  —  |  length  of  spiral). 

Having  selected  a  spiral  by  this  radius,  the  exact  radius  may 
be  found,  if  required,  by  the  following  formula: 

„  _  cos  \A(  VS  —  y  —  x  tan 
sine  (%A  —  8). 


Caution. — If  the  result  is  enough  different  from  the  original 
radius  to  require  a  change  in  the  spiral  by  Problem  1,  a  second 
trial  must  be  made.  This  rule  does  not  apply  for  approximate 
radius  to  the  easements  in  Table  II. 

PROBLEM  4.  Given:  The  intersection  angle  A  and  the 
external  distance  VH,  to  find  the  radius. 

Approximate  to  the  radius  by  finding  that  for  a  simple 


ADVANTAGE    OF   SPIRAL   CURVES.  91 

curve  passing  through  the  point  H,  and  select  a  spiral  for  a 
radius  somewhat  smaller. 

VH  cos  \  A  —  x     /0      ,    . 

Then  R  = -5—       ~^~r     (Searle.) 

cos  S   —  cos  -£ A 

Caution.— If  the  result  is  enough  different  from  the  original 
radius  to  require  a  change  in  the  spiral  by  Problem  1,  a  second 
trial  must  be  made. 


\/ 

y 


PROBLEM  5.    Given  :  The  x  and  y  for  any  point  on  the  spiral, 
to  find  the  deflection  from  the  tangent  at  the  point  of  spiral. 

9* 

Tangent  deflection  angle  =  -. 

PROBLEM  6.     Given:    The  x  and  y  for  any  point  on  the 
spiral,  to  find  the  long  chord. 

(a)    Long  chord  =  -  :  -  ~z  -  r, 
cosine  def.  angle 


or  (b)    Long  chord  =   Vx*  -\-  if. 

PROBLEM  7.  Given:  x  and  y  for  a  point  on  the  spiral,  to 
find  x'  and  y'  on  a  line  parallel  to  the  spiral,  and  offsetted  the 
distance  SSf  inside  the  spiral. 

x'  =  x  —  SS'  ver  sine  S°  ; 
y'  =  y  -  SS'  sine  S°. 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


Note. — Problems  5  and  6  can  then  be  applied  to  xf  and  y' 
if  it  is  desired  to  use  deflection  angles  to  lay  out  the  curve. 


t-  y 

PROBLEM  7. 

As  these  curves  will  almost  invariably  be  laid  out  on  an  offset 
varying  with  the  gauge  of  the  road,  the  deflections  are  not 
figured  in  the  table. 

k 


PROBLEM  8. 


ADVANTAGE   OF   SPIRAL   CURVES. 


93 


PROBLEM  8.  Given  a  circular  curve  with  spirals,  to  find 
the  distance  VV,  in  order  to  lay  out  a  tangent  to  the  circular 
curve,  from  which  the  latter  may  be  laid  out  in  the  usual 
manner. 

VH  —  see  Problem  2; 

VH  =  R  ex  secant 
VV  =  VH-  VH. 


PROBLEM  9.     General  solution  for  unsymmetrical  curves 
OQ  =  R  +  x  -  R  ver  sine  S°; 
OS  =  y  -  R  sine  #°; 
OG'  =  R  +  as*  -  R  ver  sine  #0/; 


sine  A 
00'  -  00 
tan  A 


94 


STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 


Note. —  ±  in  above;  -f  if  A  is  more   than  90°,  and  —  if 
A  is  less  than  90°. 


F'Z     or      V'U  =  tan  WR; 

VB  =^-f  F£  sine  £°; 
FZ?  =  VS  —  (y  -\-VL  —  VL  ver  sine 

tan  C  = 


FF'  = 


F5  ' 
cosine  C 

S>i(<7=46°+- 


PKOBLEM  10. 

PROBLEM  10.  Given  :  The  middle  ordinate  for  a  chord  of 
length  AB  for  R  and  R',  to  find  the  middle  ordinate  at  the 
P.  C.  C. 

From  the  figure  it  is  evident  that  D'C'  bisects  CD. 

CF+  DF 

2 


.'.  EF  = 


Therefore  the  middle  ordinate  at  any  P.  0.  C.  in  the  spiral 
equals  one-half  the  sum  of  the  middle  ordinates  for  the  radii 
vn  each  side  for  the  same  chord. 

Note. — See  remark  following  Problem  11. 


ADVANTAGE   OP   SPIRAL   CURVES.  95 


_ 

/ i£          \ 

/  t \ 


A 

PROBLEM  11. 

PKOBLEM  11.  —  Given  :  That  portion  of  a  spiral  with  equal 
chords  L,  L',  and  L"  and  angles  a  —  b,  a,  and  a  -f  b,  to  find 
the  middle  ordinate  at  the  center  of  the  chord  L  in  the  length 
D'C'. 

OF  =  C'A    and    DF  =  D'B. 

From  the  figure  it  is  evident  that  D'C'  bisects  CD. 

CF+DF 
..EF--  —  --  . 


Then   C'A  =  %L  tan  i«  +  L'   sine  Ua  + 
D'B  =  iZ  tan  Ja  +  ^"  sine    ia  +  ^ 


and  since  the  sines  of  small  angles  are  proportional  to  the 
angles, 


But  this  last  equation  equals  the  middle  ordinate  in  the 
length  AB  for  the  radius  of  the  central  arc;  and  since  the 
increment  to  the  angle  ~b  would  be  equal  if  L'  and  L"  were 
equal,  the  middle  ordinate  at  the  centre  of  any  arc  of  the  spiral, 
for  any  length  of  chord,  is  equal  to  the  middle  ordinate  of  the 
radius  of  that  arc  in  the  same  length. 


96  STREET-KAILWAY   ROADBED. 

Remark. — It  will  be  noticed  that  the  solutions  of  Problems 
10  and  11  are  slightly  inaccurate  in  not  allowing  for  the 
increase  of  length  of  D'C'  over  AB,  nor  for  the  inclination  of 
the  middle  ordinate  found  to  the  true  middle  ordinate. 

Problem  11,  if  applied  to  the  curving  of  rails,  as  intended, 
also  assumes  that  each  rail  forms  a  spiral,  whereas  they  are 
simply  lines  parallel  to  one. 

Both  solutions,  however,  are  sufficiently  accurate  for  any 
spiral  of  5 -ft.  chords  or  greater. 

Taken  in  connectio  with  Table  III,  the  middle  ordinates 
can  be  easily  found  for  points  on  the  rails  from  2^  to  3  ft. 
apart.  The  rails  being  curved  to  these,  exactly  what  is  de- 
sired will  be  obtained,  i.e.,  a  curve  of  constantly  changing 
radius,  which  is  only  considered  a  compound  curve  for  the 
purpose  of  calculation. 

These  spirals  are  figured  for  a  length  suitable  to  the  ordi- 
nary *  street-railroad  speeds.  For  greater  speeds  the  writer 
would  advise  the  use  of  the  regular  railroad  spirals.  Tables 
in  convenient  form  for  these  have  been  published  by  William 
H.  Searle,  C.E.,  and  others. 


TABLE    I. — SPIKALS. 


97 


TABLE  I.— SPIRALS. 

SPIRAL  No.  1. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

•   X. 

y- 

O°» 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

210 

0°  42' 

0.015 

2.565 

0°  42' 

.00007 

.01222 

105 

1  24 

0.078 

5.130 

2  06 

.00067 

.03664 

70 

2   6 

0.219 

7.692 

4  12 

.00269 

.07324 

52i 

2  48 

0.469 

10.245 

7   0 

.00745 

.12187 

42 

3  30 

0.860 

12.780 

10  30 

.01675 

.18224 

35 

4  12 

1.420 

15.283 

14  42 

.03273 

.25376 

30 

SPIRAL  No.  2. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

so. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

300 

0°  30' 

0.011 

2.618 

0°  30' 

.00004 

.00873 

150 

1   0 

0.057 

5.235 

1  30 

.00034 

.02618 

100 

1  30 

0.160 

7:851 

3  0 

.00137 

.05234 

75 

2   0 

0.342 

10.463 

5   0 

.00381 

.08716 

60 

2  30 

0.627 

13.065 

7  30 

,00856 

.13053 

50 

3  0 

1.036 

15.651 

10  30 

.01675 

.18224 

42| 

3  30 

1.587 

18.187 

14   0 

.02970 

.24192 

33i 

4  0 

2.309 

20.703 

18  0 

.04894 

.30902 

SPIRAL  No.  3. 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

300 

1°     0' 

0.046 

5.236 

1°    0' 

.00015 

.01745 

150 

2      0 

0.229 

10.468 

3     0 

.00137 

.05234 

100 

3      0 

0.639 

15.688 

6     0 

.00548 

.10453 

75 

4      0 

1.368 

20.871 

10     0 

.01519 

.17365 

60 

5      0 

2.501 

25.982 

15     0 

.03407 

.25882 

50 

6      0 

4.118 

30.959 

21     0 

.06642 

.35837 

40 

7      0 

6.143 

35.403 

28     0 

.11705 

.46947 

35 

SPIRAL  No.  4. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

420 

0°  42' 

0.031 

5.131 

0°  42' 

.00007 

.01222 

210 

1  24 

0.157 

10.261 

2   6 

.00067 

.03664 

140 

2   6 

0.439 

15.384 

4  12 

.00269 

.07324 

105 

2  48 

0.939 

20.490 

7   0 

.00745 

.12187 

84 

3  30 

1.720 

25.561 

10  30 

.01675 

.18224 

70 

4  12 

2.839 

30.567 

14  42 

.03273 

.25376 

60 

4  54 

4.352 

35.469 

19  36 

.05794 

.33545 

52| 

98 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE   I.— SPIRALS  (Continued). 
SPIRAL  No.  5. 


'Rad. 

Angle. 

X, 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

600 

0°  30' 

0.023 

5.236 

0°  30' 

.00004 

.00873 

300 

1   0 

0.114 

10.471 

1  30 

.00034 

.02618 

200 

1  30 

0.320 

15.703 

3  0 

.00137 

.05234 

150 

2   0 

0.685 

20.926 

5  0 

.00381 

.08716 

120 

2  30 

1.255 

26.130 

7  30 

.00856 

.13053 

100 

3  0 

2.073 

31.302 

10  30 

.01675 

.18224 

85 

3  30 

3.175 

36.374 

14  0 

.02970 

.24192 

75 

SPIRAL  No.  6. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

900 

0°  20' 

0.015 

5.236 

0°  20' 

00002 

.00582 

450 

0  40 

0.076 

10.472 

1   0 

.00015 

.01745 

300 

1   0 

0.213 

15.706 

2  0 

00061 

.03490 

225 

1  20 

0.457 

20.936 

3  20 

.00169 

.05814 

180 

1  '40 

0.837 

26.158 

5  0 

.00381 

.08716 

150 

2   0 

1.385 

31.365 

7  0 

.00745 

.12187 

128 

2  20 

2.125 

36.524 

9  20 

.01324 

.16218 

112* 

SPIRAL  No.  7. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

1260 

0°  15' 

0.012 

5.498 

0°  15' 

.00001 

.00436 

630 

0  30 

0.060 

10.995 

0  45 

.00009 

.01309 

420 

0  45 

0.168 

16.492 

1  30 

.00034 

.02618 

315 

1   0 

0.360 

21.987 

2  30 

.00095 

.04362 

252 

1  15 

0.660 

27.475 

3  45 

.00214 

.06540 

210 

1  30 

1.091 

32.957 

5  15 

.00420 

.09150 

180 

1  45 

1.678 

38.424 

7   0 

.00745 

.12187 

157 

SPIRAL  No.  8. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

1890 

0°  10' 

0.008 

5.498 

Or  10' 

.00000 

.00291 

945 

0  20 

0.040 

10.996 

0  30 

.00004 

.00873 

630 

0  30 

0.112 

16.493 

1   0 

.00015 

.01745 

472| 

0  40 

0.241 

21.990 

1  40 

.00042 

.02908 

378 

0  50 

0.441 

27.483 

2  30 

.00095 

.04362 

315 

1   0 

0.729 

32.973 

3  30 

.00187 

.06105 

270 

1  10 

1.120 

38.457 

4  40 

.00o32 

.08136 

236 

TABLE   I. — SPIRALS. 


99 


TABLE  I.— SPIRALS  (Continued). 
SPIRAL  No.  9. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

2730 

o°  r 

0.006 

5.559 

o°  r 

.00000 

.00204 

1365 

0  14 

0.028 

11.118 

0  21 

.00002 

.00611 

910 

0  21 

0.079 

16677 

0  42 

.00007 

.01222 

682£ 

0  28 

0.170 

22  234 

1  10 

.00021 

.02036 

546 

0  35 

0.311 

27.791 

1  45 

.00047 

.03054 

455 

0  42 

0.515 

33.346 

2  27 

.00091 

.04275 

390 

0  49 

0.792 

38.899 

3  16 

.00162 

.05698 

341 

SPIRAL  No.  10. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

3780 

0°  5' 

0.004 

5.498 

0°  5' 

.00000 

.00145 

1890 

0  10 

0020 

10.996 

0  15 

.00001 

.00436 

1260 

0  15 

0.056 

16.493 

0  30 

.00004 

.00873 

945 

0  20 

0.120 

21.991 

0  50 

.00011 

.01454 

7:>6 

0  25 

0.220 

27.488 

1  15 

.00024 

.02181 

630 

0  30 

0.364 

32.983 

1  45 

.00047 

.03054 

540 

0  35 

0.560 

38.478 

2  20 

.00083 

.04071 

472 

SPIRAL  No.  11. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

5250 

0°  4' 

.0035 

6.109 

0°  4' 

.00000 

.00116 

2625 

0  8 

.0178 

12.217 

0  12 

.00001 

.00349 

1750 

0  12 

.0498 

18.326 

0  24 

.00002 

.00698 

13121 

0  16 

.1066 

24.434 

0  40 

.00007 

.01164 

1050 

0  20 

.1955 

30.542 

1   0 

.00015 

.01745 

875 

0  24 

.3234 

36.649 

1  24 

.00030 

.02443 

750 

0  28 

.4975 

42.756 

1  52 

.00053 

.03257 

656 

SPIRAL  No.  12. 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

S°. 

Ver.  Sine. 

Sine. 

7140 

0°  3' 

.0027 

6.231 

0°  3' 

.00000 

.00087 

3570 

0  6 

.0136 

12.462 

0  9 

.00000 

.00262 

2380 

0   9 

.0381 

18692 

0  18 

.00001 

.00524 

1785 

0  12 

.0816 

24.923 

0  30 

.00004 

.00873 

1428 

0  15 

.1495 

31.153 

0  45 

.00009 

.01309 

1190 

0  18 

.2474 

37.384 

1   3 

.00017 

.01832 

1020 

0  21 

.3806 

43.613 

1  24 

.00030 

.02443 

892 

100 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE   II. 

Explanation. — These  easements  were  designed  with  a  view 
to  combining  a  very  easy-running  curve  with  expedition  and 
economy  in  the  manufacture  of  the  frogs. 

The  latter  is  effected  by  making  the  four  crossing  frogs  ex- 
actly alike  for  different  distances  between  track  centers  within 
certain  limits.  This  is  done  by  adopting  a  standard  distance 


FIG.  149. 

0  (Fig.  149)  and  varying  the  easement  to  meet  this  con- 
dition. 

For  the  outer  curve  of  a  D.  T.  B.  0  use  that  easement 
which  corresponds  to  the  distance  between  track  centers  (7. 
If  the  required  distance  is  not  included  in  the  table  a  new 
easement  must  be  figured,  or  the  distance  of  track  centers 
must  be  changed  in  the  special  work  to  agree  with  the  nearest 
one  given.  For  the  inner  curve  of  a  S.  T.  B.  0.  any  ease- 
ment may  be  used  which  corresponds  to  the  center  radius  de- 
sired. 


TABLE   II. 


101 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  30'  0". 


Rad 

Angle. 

X. 

V. 

8°, 

c     j  9'  ou'< 

C  =  \  9'  gj" 

TF. 

z. 

50 
30 

10°  0'  0" 

0.760 

8.682 

10°  0'  0" 

3.473 

0.304 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

*=M''' 

w. 

z. 

50 

37i 
30 

10°  0'    0" 
5  43  20 

0.760 
1.593 

8.682 
12.332 

10°  0'    0" 
15  43  20 

4.203 

0.470 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

J    9'  4^" 
'  ~  1  10'  0^" 

W. 

z. 

75 
45 
30 

7°  50'  0" 
4   4145 

0.700 
1.351 

10.222 
13.851 

7°  50'  0" 
12   3145 

7.343 

0.637 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r  j  9'  6H" 

C  -  1  10'  2^" 

TF. 

z. 

75 
50 
37| 
30 

7°  50' 
3  48 
5  0 

0.700 
1.260 
2.059 

10.222 
13.490 
16.662 

7°  50' 
11  38 
16  38 

8.075 

0.804 

CENTER  RADIUS  32'  6". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

HW 

w. 

z. 

50 

32| 

10°  0'  0" 

0.760 

8.682 

10°  0'  0" 

3.039 

0.266 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

<H?i§£ 

w. 

z. 

50 

10°  0'  0" 

0.760 

8.682 

10°    0'  0" 

3.749 

0.433 

39 

626  0 

1.760 

12.943 

16   26    0 

102 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


L  TABLE   II.— Continued.  I 
CENTER  RADIUS  32'  6". 


rr       J    9/  4^" 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s° 

0  ~  1  10'  Oy8" 

W. 

z. 

75 

T  50' 

0.700 

10.222 

7°  50' 

6.895 

0.599 

45 
32A 

5      8  20" 

1.428 

14.190 

12   5820" 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s° 

r  _  j    9'  6^" 
0  -  1  10'  2^" 

W. 

z. 

75 

7°  50' 

0.700 

10.222 

7°  50' 

7.625 

0.766 

50 

3   59 

1.293 

13.646 

11    49 

40 

5     0 

2.156 

17.027 

16    49 

CENTER  RADIUS  35'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

r<      I  9'  QU," 
0  -  \  9'  8J$" 

W. 

z. 

75 
56 
45 
35 

7°  50' 
3    35 
4   30 

0.700 
1.285 
2.120 

10.222 
13.674 
17.108 

7°  50' 
11  25 
15  55 

7.509 

0.778 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r      j9'    2J4" 
=  19'10^" 

W. 

z. 

75 
56 
44 
35 

7°  50' 
4   50 
6     2   40" 

0.700 
1.540 
2.795 

10.222 
14.869 
19.336 

7°  50' 

12    40 
18   4240" 

8.108 

0.945 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r   j  9'  4^" 

"  =  1  10'  0^" 

w. 

z. 

1024 
70 
631 

42 
35 

6°  30' 
3  3 
4  4 
5  0 

0.658 
1.178 
1.926 
2.943 

11.584 
15.273 
18.923 
22.443 

6°  30' 
9  33 
13  37 
18  37 

11.270 

1  112 

TABLE   II. 


103 


TABLE  II. -Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  35'  0". 


Had. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r   J  9'  6^" 

c  -  1  10'  •%" 

w. 

z. 

1.278 

103| 

70 
524 
42 
35 

6°  30' 

3  33 
4  44 
5  59 

0.658 
1.282 
2.214 
3.553 

11.584 
15.876 
20.110 

24.285 

6°  30' 
10  3 
14  47 
20  46 

11.875 

CENTER  RADIUS  37'  6". 


c  _  j  9^  OJ^ 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

5° 

|  9'  8^x/ 

W. 

z. 

75 

7°  50' 

0.700 

10.222 

7°  50' 

6,824 

0.682 

56 

3    35 

1.285 

13.674 

11    25 

45 

4    30 

2.120 

17.108 

15   55 

Q  _  J  9'    2V£" 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y~ 

s°. 

1  9'  10J4" 

W. 

z. 

75 

7*50' 

0.700 

10.222 

r  so' 

7.435 

0.849 

56 

4    54 

1.554 

14.933 

12   44 

45 

6     6 

2.857 

19.541 

18   50 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

c-\  £ 

~\K 

'  W 
'<%" 

W. 

z. 

10H 
70 
524 

42 
374, 

6°  30' 
3     9 
4    12 
5   32 

0.658 
1.199 
1.982 
3.142 

11.584 
15.394 
19.161 
23.046 

6°  30' 
9  39 
13  51 
19  23 

10.601 

1.016 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

S°. 

r     \  8 
-lie 

'  6^" 
'  %&" 

w. 

Z. 

1024 
70 
524. 
42 
37i 

6°  30X 
3   48 
5     4 
6    17 

0.658 
1.336 
2.367 

3.828 

11.584 
16.176 
20.701 
25.067 

6°  30' 
10  18 
15  22 
21  39 

11.232 

1.183 

104 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  40'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

rr     j  9'  0^" 
C  =  \V$i» 

W. 

z. 

75 

7°  50' 

0.700 

10.222 

7°  50' 

6.138 

0.587 

56 

3   35 

1.285 

13.674 

11   25 

45 

4   30 

2.120 

17.108 

15   55 

40 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

-C-J9'    2fc" 
C  ~  1  9'  lOfc" 

W. 

z. 

75 
56 
45 
40 

7°  50' 
5    15 
6   33 

0.700 
1.631 
3.079 

10.222 
15.266 
20.200 

7°  50' 
13     5 
19   38 

6.760 

0.753 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r   j  9'  4W 
C  ~  1  10'  <%" 

W. 

z. 

102£ 
70 
52£ 
45 
40 

6°  30' 
3  4 
4  6 
4  46 

0.658 
1.181 
1.938 
2.972 

11.584 
15.294 
18.973 
22.570 

6°  30' 
9  34 
13  40 
18  26 

9.922 

0.920 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

c  _  J  9'  6H" 

0  -  |  10'  2W 

W. 

z. 

1024 
70 
524 
45 
40 

6°  30' 
3  42 
4  56 
6  11 

0.658 
1.314 
2.305 
3.823 

11.584 
16.056 
20.465 
25.076 

6°  30' 
10  12 
15  8 
21  19 

10.535 

1.087 

CENTER  RADIUS  42'  6". 


HIIF 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

W. 

z. 

102* 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°3(y 

8.534 

0.654 

70 

2    30 

1.070 

14.611 

9   00 

n 

3   20 

1.635 

17.612 

12   20 

TABLE   II. 


105 


TABLE  II.  —  Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  42'  6". 


<  9'    2V6" 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s° 

~  |  9'  10}i" 

TF. 

z. 

1021 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

9.327 

0.821 

70 

3   39 

1.303 

15.996 

10     9 

42' 

4   49 

2.263 

20.303 

14   58 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r  _  J  9'  W 

0  -  1  10'  ow 

w. 

z. 

83} 
624 
50 
421 

6°  30' 
2  32 
3  23 
4  13 

0.658 
1.156 
1.842 
2.765 

11.584 
15.235 
18.861 
22.422 

6°  30' 
9  2 
12  25 

16  38 

10.256 

0.987 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

n   j  9'  6^" 

-  1  10'  aB" 

w. 

z. 

102J 
831 
624 
50 

42| 

6°  30' 
3  2 
4  3 
5  5 

0.658 
1.273 
2.158 
3.390 

11.584 
15.953 
20.280 
24.540 

6°  30' 
9  32 
13  35 

18  40 

10.938 

1.154 

CENTER  RADIUS  45'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r      I  9'  OW 
1  9'  8^" 

W. 

z. 

1021 
70 
521 
45 

6°  30' 
2    30 
3    20 

0.658 
1.070 
1.635 

11.584 
14.611 
17.612 

6°  30' 
9  0 
12  20 

8.000 

0.596 

4    Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

C       J9'    2^" 
=  1  9'  log" 

W, 

z. 

10-21 

70 
52* 

45 

6°  30* 
3    51 
5      5 

0.658 
1.347 
2.386 

11.584 
16.236 
20.775 

6°  30' 
10  21 
15  26 

8.800 

0.763 

106 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  45'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

If. 

s°. 

<Hi?8£ 

w. 

z. 

102* 
83* 
62* 
50 
45 

6°  30' 
2   42 
3   36 
437 

0.658 
1.194 
1.944 
2.993 

11.584 
15.474 
19.328 
23.217 

6°  30' 
9  12 
12  48 
17  25 

9.748 

0.930 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

n         1    9'  6^" 
-   1  10'  2W' 

W. 

z. 

102* 
83* 
62£ 
50" 
45 

6°  30' 
3    18 
4    24 
5    21    20" 

0.658 
1.338 
2.336 
3692 

11.584 
16.335 
21.029 
25.499 

6°  30' 
9   48 
14   12 
19   3320" 

10.437 

1.096 

CENTER  RADIUS  50'  0". 


r      J  9'  oj^" 

O  =   •}  q/  oil// 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

a*. 

W. 

z. 

102* 

6°   30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

7.793 

0.613 

83* 

2     10 

1.074 

14.708 

8   40 

62*" 

2    53 

1.626 

17.804 

11    33 

50 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

c  _    »  9'    2^" 
-  1  9'  lOfc" 

W. 

z. 

102* 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

8.634 

0.780 

83* 

3     9 

1.301 

16.120 

9    39 

62* 

4   11    30" 

2.232 

20.596 

13    5030" 

50 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

r.  _  j  9'  4J^" 
-  1  10'  oy2" 

w. 

Z. 

102* 
80 
66* 
57 
50 

6°  30' 
3  12 
3  51 
4  32 

0.658 
1.287 
2.187 
3.416 

11.584 
16.007 
20.383 
24.721 

69  30' 
9  42 
13  33 

18  05 

9.201 

0.947 

TABLE   II. 


107 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  50'  0". 


c  =  J  9;  {%;; 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

'       ^ 

w. 

Z. 

102* 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

9.944 

1.113 

85 

2   39 

1.198 

15.479 

9     9 

73 

3     5 

1.922 

19.339 

12    14 

63^ 

3   32 

2.869 

23.137 

15    46 

56 

3   56 

4.040 

26.795 

19    42 

50 

CENTER  RADIUS  55'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

r-  \* 

~  19 

'014" 

'W 

W. 

z. 

102J 
82£ 
66 
55 

6°  30' 
1  48 
2  15 

0.658 
0.992 
1.416 

11.584 
14.155 
16.711 

6°  30' 
8  18 
10  33 

6.641 

0.486 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

flf». 

c=\\ 

)'  2^" 

>'  W 

w. 

z. 

102i 
82i 
66 
55 

6°  30' 
3  2 
3  49 

0.658 
1.267 
2.139 

11.584 
15.909 
20.217 

6°  30 
9  32 
13  21 

7.518 

0.653 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

c=j 

9'  4^" 
10'  OJ$" 

w. 

Z. 

102i 
96 
77 
64 
W55 

6°  30' 
2  13 
2  46 
3  20 

0.658 
1.149 
1.801 
2.648 

11.584 
15.265 
18926 
22.551 

6°  30' 
8  43 
11  29 
14  49 

8486 

0.820 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

•s°. 

c=\ 

9'  6fc" 
10'  2^" 

w. 

Z. 

102i 
96 
77 
64 
55 

6°  30' 
2  44 
3  25 
4  8 

0.658 
1.285 
2.156 
3.328 

11.584 
16.121 
20.628 
25.093 

6°  30' 
9  14 
12  39 
16  47 

9211 

0.986 

108 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE  II.— Continued, 
CENTER  RADIUS  60'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

r-  -I9 
c-  is 

'0^" 

'%W 

w. 

z. 

102* 
84 
70 
60 

6°  30' 
1    45 
2     6 

0.658 
0.987 
1.402 

11.584 
14.129 
16.660 

6°  30' 
8  15 
10  21 

5.881 

0.425 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

V' 

s*. 

c-  -Is 
c~  \\ 

'    2W 

'  W 

W. 

z. 

1021 
84 
70 
60 

6°  30' 
3    10 
3    49 

0.658 
1.310 
2.246 

11.584 
16.180 
20.748 

6°  30' 
9    40 
13    29 

6.758 

0.592 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

s°. 

o.\, 

9'  W 
0'  OH" 

W. 

z. 

102£ 
96 
80 
68^ 
60 

6°  30' 
2    21 
2    50 
3    18 

0.658 
1.184 
1.889 
2.798 

11.584 
15.486 
19.379 
23.217 

6°  30' 
8  51 
11  41 
14  59 

7.705 

0.759 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

8°. 

1       <Hi 

9'  eya" 

0'  2^" 

w. 

z. 

102£ 
96 
80 
68£ 
60 

6°  30' 
2    56 
3    31 
4    9 

0.658 
1.339 
2.292 
3.578 

11.584 
16.451 
21.267 
26.058 

6°  30' 
9    26 
12    57 
17      6 

8.416 

0.925 

CENTER  RADIUS  65'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

s°. 

r       \  9'  QW' 
C=  }9'8}%" 

W. 

z. 
0.871 

102i 
86i 
74 
65 

6°  30' 
1    42 
1    59 

0.658 
0.985 
1.395 

11.584 
14.125 
16.653 

6°  30' 
8  12 
10  11 

5.161 

TABLE   II. 


109 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  65'  0". 


Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

V- 

r_J9'    2fc" 

17   1  rug" 

w. 

z. 

102* 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

6.034 

0.537 

86i 

3    18 

1.363 

16.506 

9    48 

74 

3    51 

2.373 

21.374 

13    39 

65 

C=J    9)4*6" 

Rad 

Angle 

x 

s° 

(  I"  OJ^ 

w. 

z. 

102* 

6°3(X 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

6.881 

0.704 

93 

2   48 

1.282 

16.086 

9    18 

81 

3   12 

2.138 

20.527 

12   30 

72 

3   34 

3.243 

24.870 

16     4 

65 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y. 

0  =  {  w  zw 

w. 

z. 

102i 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

7.537 

0.871 

93 

3   30 

1.473 

17.206 

10     0 

81 

4     0 

2.648 

22.736 

14     0 

72 

4   29 

4.224 

28.144 

18   29 

65 

CENTER  RADIUS  70'  0". 


c      j  9'  Q%" 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y 

S°. 

\  9'  $W 

6°  30' 

W. 

z. 

102J 

6°3<y 

0.658 

11.584 

4.515 

0.327 

90 

1    38 

0.984 

14.129 

8     8 

79 

1    52 

1.390 

16.671 

10     0 

70 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

/7_J9'  2^" 
-  1  9'  lOJ^" 

W. 

z. 

102i 

6°  30' 

0.658 

11.584 

6°  30' 

5.390 

0.493 

90 

3  19 

1.397 

16.740 

9  49 

79 

3  48 

2.461 

21.870 

13  37 

70 

110 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE  II.— Continued. 
CENTER  RADIUS  70*  0". 


Bad. 

Angle. 

X. 

V- 

8°. 

n-!>    V'W 
~  \  10'  0}2" 

w. 

z. 

102* 
93} 
84 
76 
70 

6°  30' 
3     9 
3   30 
3   47 

0.658 
1.379 
2.393 
3.695 

11.584 
16.664 
21.693 
26.539 

6°  30' 
9   39 
13     9 
16   56 

6.151 

0.660 

Rad. 

Angle. 

X. 

y- 

8°. 

c     J  9'  6^" 

-  1  KX  SB" 

w. 

z. 

102J 
95 

85* 

77i 
70 

6°  SO7 
3   36 
4     0 
4   29 

0.658 
1.519 
2.770 
4.476 

11.584 
17.490 
23.325 
29.143 

6°  30' 
10     6 
14     6 
18   35 

6.835 

0.826 

CHAPTEE  IX. 

DESIGN   OF   SPECIAL   WORK. 

WHILE  the  frog  and  switch  work,  as  previously  remarked,  is 
necessarily  u  special  work"  in  its  truest  sense,  there  is  a  larger 
opportunity  for  standardization  than  is  usually  taken  advan- 
tage of.  Every  road  should  insist  that  at  least  the  switches 
and  mates  from  the  same  manufacturer,  of  the  same  "  hand  " 
and  height  of  rail,  shall  be  strictly  interchangeable.  It  may 
be  necessary  in  some  cases  to  use  a  switch  of  shorter  radius 
than  the  standard,  but  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  medley  of 
switches  and  mates  which  are  often  found  even  on  the  smaller 
roads. 

It  very  often  happens  that  part  of  a  piece  of  work  has  to  be 
thrown  out  because  badly  worn  on  one  track  only.  If  it  were 
interchangeable  with  a  piece  in  another  location  which  was 
worn  on  the  other  track,  both  could  be  used  for  several  years 
longer.  As  conditions  generally  prevail,  both  go  to  the  scrap- 
heap. 

There  is  more  difficulty  with  frogs  than  with  switches.  The 
customer  should  insist  that  only  one  angle  and  length  of  frog 
be  used  for  crossovers  and  turnouts.  Even  this  is  often  not 
done. 

Probably  90  per  cent  of  the  frogs  required  for  any  road  are 
included  in  a  double-track  branch-off  from  straight  track.  As 
an  illustration  of  the  possibilities  of  standardization  in  this 
direction,  it  might  be  mentioned  that  special  work  was  re- 
cently designed  for  an  Eastern  road  which  required  162  frogs 
in  24  different  layouts,  covering  nearly  every  case  which  can 
occur  in  either  single-  or  double-track  work.  The  latter  was 
of  two  distances  of  track  centers.  Of  these  162  frogs,  102 

111 


112  STREET-RAILWAY  ROADBED. 

were  exact  duplicates  of  others,  making  only  60  different 
frogs.  There  need  not  be  more  than  three  different  sets  of 
branch-off  frogs  of  each  hand  to  fill  the  needs  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive system  for  such  frogs. 

In  Table  II  of  the  preceding  chapter  is  given  a  set  of 
switch  easements  which  enables  us  to  take  care  of  different 
distances  of  track  centers,  if  such  occur,  while  at  the  same 
time  insuring  the  easiest  possible  entrances  to  the  main  curve. 
If  special  work  be  required  for  a  number  of  different  places, 
the  following  method  is  a  convenient  one  to  follow. 

First  look  over  the  system  and  determine  the  location  and 
radius  of  the  minimum  radius  curve.  Let  us  assume  for  the 
purpose  of  illustration  that  this  would  be  one  of  about  40  ft. 
if  the  curve  is  properly  spiralized.  We  will  then  assume  a 
radius  somewhat  larger,  say  45  ft.,  for  the  radius  of  the  inner 
curve  and  such  an  easement  taken  from  Table  II  as  appears 
suitable  to  us.  With  the  usual  sizes  of  cars  and  distances  of 
track  centers  car-clearance  will  be  obtained  if  the  outer  curve 
has  a  radius  five  feet  greater  than  that  of  the  inner,  if  the 
latter  be  properly  compounded  at  the  ends.  This  fixes  the 
radius  of  the  outer  curve  at  50  ft.,  with  the  easement  corre- 
sponding to  the  distance  of  track  centers.  This  completes 
our  first  standard  double-track  branch-off  up  to  the  line  AA, 
Fig.  150. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  one  layout  gives  us  two  standard 
frogs,  No.  13  and  No.  19,  for  use  in  such  pieces  as  shown  in 
Figs.  128,  129,  130,  133,  134,  if  these  should  occur  on  the 
road  in  question. 

Having  established  such  a  standard,  make  a  tracing  on  cloth 
and  with  AA  as  a  P.  C.  C.  line  draw  the  center  lines  of  a 
number  of  curves,  say  from  35  ft.  to  55  ft.  for  the  inner  curve 
and  from  40  ft.  to  60  ft.  for  the  outer  curve.  Having  then  a 
plan  of  the  location  where  a  branch-off  is  required,  showing 
all  obstructions  which  are  to  be  cleared,  put  on  the  center 
lines  of  the  tracks  to  be  connected.  Also  sketch,  roughly,  the 
position  in  which  it  seems  possible  to  lay  the  center  line  of 
the  curve.  Then  place  the  tracing  on  top  of  the  plan  and 
make  the  straight  track  on  the  tracing  coincide  with  that  on 


DESIGK   OF   SPECIAL  WORK. 


113 


the  plan.  Move  the  tracing  along  the  straight  line  until  some 
one  of  the  center  lines  on  the  tracing  appears  to  coincide  as 
closely  as  seems  possible  with  the  location  desired  for  the 


inner  curve.  Prick  through  the  center  for  this  curve  and  the 
centers  and  P.  C.  C.'s  for  the  inner  curve  of  the  standard 
branch-off.  Proceed  in  the  same  way  for  the  outer  curve  and 
draw  them  both  in  on  the  paper  plan.  Finish  the  free  ends 


114 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


of  the  curves  with  spirals,  and  the  final   plan  will  be  some- 
what as  shown  in  Fig.  151. 


FIG.  151.— DIAGRAM  SHOWING  FINAL  PLAN  OF  CURVE. 


Checking  the  car-clearance  with  the  celluloid  template 
described  in  Chapter  IV  completes  the  operation.  If  all  the 
streets  were  of  about  the  same  width  and  intersected  at  about 
the  same  angle  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  have  more  than 
this  one  standard.  It  may  be  necessary  to  establish  one  or 
two  more. 

If  the  location  of  trolley  wire  be  desired,  it  can  be  easily 
found  by  the  use  of  a  template  of  the  essential  elements  of 
the  problem,  i.e.,  the  wheel  base  and  the  horizontal  projection 
of  the  trolley  pole. 

Having  a  plan  of  the  curve,  for  which  the  location  of  trolley- 


DESIGN   OF   SPECIAL   WORK.  115 

wire  is  desired,  to  a  scale  of  five  feet  to  the  inch  or  larger,  take 
a  piece  of  thin  transparent  celluloid  and  cut  it  to  the  length 
of  the  wheel  base  (on  the  same  scale  as  the  plan),  and  mark 
with  a  sharp  point  a  line  for  the  center  line  of  the  car,  and 
mark  the  center  of  the  wheel  base.  Then  cut  another  piece 
a  little  longer  than  the  horizontal  projection  of  the  trolley- 
pole.  Mark  a  line  on  this  at  right  angles  to  one  end,  and 
mark  the  length  of  the  horizontal  projection  of  the  trolley- 
pole  from  this  end.  Then  join  the  two  pieces  at  the  center 
of  the  wheel  base  and  center  of  the  trolley  base  by  an  eyelet 
paper  binder,  loosely  enough  so  that  they  may  turn  with  some 
little  friction. 

Then,  placing  the  template  upon  the  plan  of  the  curve  so 
that  the  wheel  base  coincides  with  the  center  line  of  the  curve, 
and  swinging  the  "trolley-pole"  until  the  square  end  is  radial 
to  the  track  curve,  we  can  mark  a  point  which  will  be  approx- 
imately on  the  wire  curve.  Carrying  this  process  through  the 
spiral  to  the  point  where  the  offset  becomes  constant,  we  next 
sketch  in  the  approximate  location  through  the  points  just 
found.  Going  over  this  again,  and  making  the  "trolley- 
pole  "  square  with  radial  lines  from  this  approximate  location 
instead  of  those  of  the  track  curve,  we  can  lay  down  the  final 
location  of  the  wire  for  cars  to  run  in  one  direction.  If  cars 
are  to  run  in  both  directions,  the  location  should  be  found  by 
taking  an  average  of  the  curves  located  by  the  aid  of  the  tem- 
plate. 

In  the  instance  shown  in  Fig.  152  there  is  from  six  to  eight 
inches  difference  in  the  offsets  for  cars  going  in  opposite 
directions.  Having  plotted  the  wire  curve  on  the  plan,  of 
course  the  offsets  will  be  taken  off  by  scale  and  used  as  cir- 
cumstances may  require.  This  method  can  also  be  used  for 
locating  frogs  over  complicated  switch-work,  in  finding  the 
proper  position  for  the  trolley  wire  in  a  car-house  door,  and 
in  other  ways  which  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  construct- 
ing engineer.  The  time  taken  for  the  operation,  having  the 
plan  and  template  in  hand,  should  be  trivial. 

If  the  outer  rail  of  the  curve  be  elevated,  the  trolley-wire 


116 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


should  be  set  in  towards  the  center  of  the  curve  an  additional 
amount  equal  to 

Elevation  X  height  of  trolley-wire  above  rail 
Gage 


In  designing  a  car-house  layout  these  standard  frogs  and 
possibly  standard  switches  cannot  be  used  if  more  than  one 
entering  track  is  to  be  provided.  There  should  be  as  far  as 


UJNlVJii±tbJ.TY 


DESIGK   OF   SPECIAL   WOEK.  117 

possible  an  entering  curve  for  each  track  inside  the  house,  in 
order  that  the  cars  may  be  quickly  gotten  out  in  case  of  fire. 
This  would  involve  a  large  number  of  frogs  and  switches  in 
the  main-line  track  if  the  curves  were  to  start  directly  from 
the  latter.  It  is  also  desirable  to  avoid  facing  switches,  while 
the  conditions  sometimes  require  that  the  curves  should  leave 
the  main  line  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  switches  face  the 
direction  of  traffic.  The  best  plan  in  this  case  is  to  have  the 
curves  start  from  a  gauntlet  track  offset  about  six  inches  from 
the  main  line.  This  involves  only  one  facing  switch  in  the 
main  line  instead  of  one  for  each  curve,  and  removes  the  latter 
switches  and  mates  from  all  the  wear  due  to  the  main-line 
traffic,  thus  insuring  them  a  much  longer  life.  If  the  frogs 
are  made,  as  they  should  be,  "  jump-over  "  or  "  unbroken 
main  line,"  the  main  line  will  receive  very  little  wear  from 
the  car-house  traffic,  and  the  continuity  of  the  rail  will  not  be 
broken  by  the  throats  of  the  frogs.  This  plan  is  shown  in 
Fig.  153.  Another  plan,  which  is  used  in  case  there  is  in  front 
of  the  car-house  plenty  of  room  which  is  not  needed  for  car 
storage,  is  to  put  in  a  ladder  or  series  of  them.  This  is  a 
simpler  and  cheaper  plan,  but  is  only  available  in  the  case  of 
wide  streets  or  very  cheap  real  estate.  An  illustration  is 
shown  in  Fig.  154.  It  is  impossible  to  take  up  every  case 
which  may  occur  in  the  design  of  special  work,  but  the  most 
usual  cases  have  been  covered,  and  the  same  principles  may 
be  applied  to  nearly  any  combination  which  is  desired. 

A  word  more  might  be  added  as  to  the  desirability  of  avoid- 
ing facing  switches  whenever  possible.  They  are  especially 
dangerous  in  positions  in  which  they  are  rarely  used  in  one 
direction,  thus  leading  the  motorman  to  be  more  careless  in 
approaching  them,  since  they  are  nearly  always  set  in  the  di- 
rection desired.  A  left-hand  crossover  is  especially  dangerous 
and  should  be  prohibited  as  a  general  rule.  The  position  pro- 
duced by  a  misplaced  switch  is  shown  in  Fig.  155.  This  acci- 
dent occurred  twice  within  a  few  days  on  a  road  of  which  the 
writer  had  personal  knowledge,  in  one  case  involving  loss  of 
life.  The  first  was  with  electric  cars,  and  the  switch  was  cov- 
ered with  water  and  was  said  to  have  been  opened  and  left  by 


118  STREET- RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


FIG.  153.— CAR  HOUSE  CURVES  LEADING  FROM  A  GAUNTLET  TRACK. 


DESIGN  OF   SPECIAL  WORK. 


119 


FIG.  154. — CAB  HOUSE  CURVES,  USED  WHERE  LARGE  SPACE  is 
AVAILABLE. 


120 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


the  crew  of  a  snow-plow.  The  second  was  with  horse-cars 
and  seemed  to  have  been  pure  carelessness,  as  the  switch  was 
in  plain  sight. 


FIG.  155. — POSITION  OF  CARS  ON  A  MISPLACED  SWITCH. 


The  position  which  may  occur  at  a  left-hand  branch-off  is 
shown  in  Fig.  156.     It  is  rarely  possible  to  avoid  the  use  of 


FIG.  156. — POSITION  OP  CARS  ON  LEFT-HAND  BRANCH-OFF. 

the  left-hand  branch-off,  although  it  may  sometimes  be  done 
by  the  method  shown  in  Fig.  157.  This  problem  generally 
has  to  be  left  for  the  operating  department  to  handle  by 
always  requiring  the  employes  to  shift  and  block  the  switch 
for  the  main  line  after  using  the  branch-off.  In  fact  this 
should  always  be  the  rule  for  any  facing  switch,  but  as  far  as 
the  writer  has  knowledge  it  is  rarely  strictly  enforced.  The 
requirement  that  the  switch  should  be  blocked  is  essential,  as 
a  wagon  may  shift  a  switch  enough  to  trip  the  wheels,  thus 


DESIGK   OF   SPECIAL  WORK. 


121 


fully  throwing  the  tongue.     Most  makes  of  switches  may  be 
easily  blocked  with  a  small  piece  of  iron  wedged  between  the 


FIG.  157. — METHOD  OF  AVOIDING  A  LEFT- HAND  BRANCH- OFF. 

guard  and  movable  tongue.  This  crude  device  is  better 
than  an  elaborate  lever  arrangement,  which  is  sure  to  be 
clogged  with  mud  or  ice. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SURVEYS  AND   LAYING   OUT  THE  WORK. 

THE  surveys  required  for  an  electric  railroad  will  depend 
altogether  upon  the  class  of  road  to  which  it  belongs.  For 
the  interurban  road,  owning  its  own  right  of  way  and  up- 
proaching  in  construction  a  steam  railroad,  the  surveys  and 
track-engineering  features  will  be  so  similar  to  the  latter  that 
there  is  little  more  to  be  said  than  is  already  covered  by  some 
scores  of  field-books. 

For  laying  tracks  in  city  streets  it  is  desirable  to  obtain  a 
knowledge  of  all  subterranean  structures  which  may  lie  within 
some  little  distance  of  the  bottom  of  the  track  structure,  in 
order  that  their  safety  and  future  existence  may  be  provided 
for.  Sometimes  this  information  may  be  obtained  from  the 
city  authorities,  but  more  often  the  first  knowledge  of  hidden 
pipes  is  obtained  when  the  ground  is  opened  up  for  track- 
laying. 

For  the  location  of  turnouts  (if  a  single-track  road)  the  en- 
gineer requires  some  knowledge  of  the  location  of  grades  which 
are  heavy  enough  to  limit  the  speed  of  the  car,  and  in  order 
to  locate  the  power  house  and  design  the  feeder  system  it  is 
also  necessary  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  configuration 
and  grades  of  the  system. 

In  the  absence  of  public  maps  which  will  give  all  this  infor- 
mation, the  quickest  and  cheapest  way  to  proceed  is  to  run  a 
random  transit  line  through  the  streets  on  which  the  road  is 
to  be  laid.  If  the  location  of  the  track  in  the  street  is  already 
fixed  by  ordinance  or  otherwise,  this  line  may  be  the  tangents 
for  the  final  track,  but  it  is  not  worth  while  to  attempt  to  do 
anything  towards  laying  out  the  shorter-radius  curves  in  the 

122 


SURVEYS  AXD   LATINO  OUT  THE   WORK.  123 

field.  From  this  line  locate  all  sewer  manholes,  electric-con- 
duit manholes,  fire-plugs,  and  any  other  obstructions  which 
may  require  to  be  moved  or  which  should  be  cleared.  Also 
locate  the  curbing  and  note  the  location  of  any  steam  or  for- 
eign electric  railway  crossings.  At  locations  which  require 
special  work  make  a  careful  surrey  of  all  obstructions  in  the 
street,  the  shape  of  the  curb  corners,  and  also  any  telegraph- 
poles,  awning-posts,  and  so  forth  which  may  require  to  be 
moved  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger  of  catching  a  person  be- 
tween them  and  the  car  or  of  striking  passengers  on  the  car. 
Finally  take  sufficient  levels  over  the  line  to  establish  the 
gradet* 

This  completes  the  preliminary  field-work,  and  sufficient  in- 
formation has  now  been  obtained  to  enable  the  engineer  to 
make  a  small  scale  map  for  the  purposes  previously  men- 
tioned. 

After  settling  the  question  of  the  location  of  the  straight 
track  with  a  view  to  avoiding  as  many  obstructions  as  possible 
consistent  with  a  desirable  line  and  without  departing  from 
the  legal  location,  the  next  question  to  be  settled  is  that  of  the 
special  work  required. 

This  is  preferably  designed  on  a  plan  of  fairly  large  scale, 
say  of  one  inch  =  five  feet.  From  the  survey  plot  the  corner 
at  which  the  curve  or  branch-off  is  required.  Also  lay  down 
the  location  of  the  straight  tracks  which  it  is  desired  to  con- 
nect. Then  proceed  as  detailed  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  questions  of  clearing  obstructions 
with  track  or  cars  can  be  settled  by  scale  on  a  plan  of  this  size 
without  recourse  to  calculation. 

For  crossings  it  is  desirable  to  run  the  final  line  and  measure 
the  angle  of  intersection,  distances  between  tracks  and  gauges, 
on  the  ground.  The  section  and  drilling  of  the  connecting 
rail  should  also  be  ascertained.  If  a  foreign  road,  it  should  be 
ascertained  by  correspondence  with  the  retjwnsible  official 
whether  the  crossing  is  to  be  built  to  conform  to  the  existing 
tracks,  or  if  the  track  is  to  be  relaid  to  some  different  align- 
ment or  change  in  track  centers;  also  if  it  is  to  be  relaid 
shortly  with  a  different  section  of  rail  which  may  affect  that 


124  STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 

of  which  the  crossing  is  to  be  built.  The  style  of  crossing  for 
a  steam  railroad  is  often  changed  to  agree  with  the  beliefs  or 
fancies  of  the  particular  official  in  charge  of  the  section  of 
track  crossed,  and  it  is  well  to  secure  a  written  assent  to  the 
style  of  construction  before  ordering  the  material. 

It  may  be  said  here  that  it  is  the  practice  for  the  various 
supply  companies  to  furnish  plans  for  all  special  work  re- 
quired. This  practice  has  much  to  be  said  both  for  and 
against  it.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  compare  prices  for 
plans  of  special  work  drawn  by  different  engineers,  as  the 
amount  of  material  can  be  made  to  vary  quite  largely.  This 
is  especially  true  of  work  drawn  up  with  spiralized  curves,  as 
all  should  be;  and  as  a  general  rule  the  curve  which  contains 
the  most  track  will  be  the  easier  riding  one,  while  the  differ- 
ence of  cost  will  appear  to  be  much  greater  than  it  really  is. 
Thus  take  two  curves  of  forty-foot-center  radius.  Let  one 
have  spirals  on  both  ends  twenty  feet  long,  and  the  other 
spirals  thirty  feet  long.  The  difference  in  price  between  the 
two  curves  will  be  about  fifteen  dollars,  but  the  second  one 
will  displace  about  ten  feet  more  straight  track,  leaving  the 
real  difference  about  seven  and  a  half  dollars  for  the  longer 
spiral.  This  is  well  worth  the  money,  but  the  difference  is 
enough  to  insure  the  purchase  of  the  curve  with  the  shorter 
spiral.  If  the  road  is  of  some  length,  an  engineer  will  be 
required  to  look  after  the  many  questions  which  require  his 
skill,  and  he  should  be  competent  to  design  the  track  struc- 
ture and  special  work.  For  the  smaller  roads  there  is  no 
question  but  that  they  receive  better  service  from  the  men 
engaged  exclusively  in  this  work  by  the  supply  companies 
than  they  could  afford  to  engage  for  themselves. 

After  the  plans  are  finally  settled  upon  for  the  track,  the 
points  should  be  given  for  line  and  grade.  Points  should  be 
given  about  fifty  feet  apart  on  straight  track,  and  close 
enough  together  on  curves  to  insure  having  at  least  two 
points  opposite  each  rail.  It  is  best  on  paved  streets  to  run 
this  line  on  an  offset  outside  the  outer  rail  rather  than 
attempt  to  run  the  center  line.  An  offset  should  be  chosen 


SURVEYS   AND   LAYING   OUT  THE   WORK.  125 

large  enough  to  put  the   points  out  of  danger  from  being 
disturbed  by  the  work. 

At  special  work  a  point  should  be  set  opposite  to  the  heel 
and  toe  of  a  switch,  and  enough  points  around  the  curve  to 
establish  the  position  of  each  joint  of  the  adjacent  rail.  If 
spiral  curves  are  to  be  used,  a  point  should  be  set  at  the 
beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  the  spiral  portion  of  the  curve. 

All  this  should  be  done,  if  time  permits,  in  advance  of  the 
track-laying  gangs.  It  is  a  waste  of  time  and  energy,  which 
could  be  better  employed,  to  attempt  to  set  up  a  transit,  or 
even  lay  out  the  work  by  tape  measurements,  while  the  track 
gang  is  laying  the  track. 

If  the  engineer  is  to  supervise  the  work,  as  he  should,  he 
can  do  so  much  better  while  not  attempting  to  carry  on  sur- 
veying operations  at  the  same  time.  If  the  actual  laying  out 
is  carried  on  by  a  transitman  who  is  not  expected  to  look 
after  construction,  he  can  do  much  faster  and  better  work  by 
being  in  advance  of  the  track  gang. 

After  the  road  is  completed,  a  skeleton  map  should  be 
prepared  for  the  operating  department,  showing  all  turnouts, 
crossovers,  and  connections,  with  the  distance  between  them. 
The  latter  need  not  be  drawn  to  scale  in  order  to  reduce  the 
plan  to  some  reasonable  dimensions.  A  convenient  map,  in 
addition  to  this,  is  a  small-scale  one  showing  a  complete  plan 
of  the  city  or  cities,  with  different  rails  and  dates  of  laying, 
shown  by  different  character  or  color  of  the  lines.  Each 
piece  of  special  work  is  numbered,  and  a  table,  is  prepared 
and  placed  on  plan  showing  date  laid,  drawing  number, 
manufacturer's  order,  and  drawing  number  and  class  of 
construction.  A  column  is  left  for  notes  as  to  repairs  and 
renewals  on  each  piece,  the  whole  making  a  very  neat  and 
convenient  record  of  the  track  structure. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SPECIFICATIONS. 

IT  is  obviously  impossible  to  give  specifications  which  will 
meet  all  the  conditions  found  in  practice. 

Those  presented  are  intended  to  secure,  under  the  usual 
conditions  of  roadbed  and  city  paving,  a  thoroughly  first-class 
track.  The  construction  could  be  improved  by  the  substitu- 
tion of  a  concrete  foundation  and  the  use  of  steel  ties.  Some 
of  the  patented  joints,  welded  or  otherwise,  would  doubtless 
be  considered  desirable  by  many  engineers,  but  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  vast  variety  one  hesitates  to  express  a  personal 
preference  for  other  than  the  usual  splice-plate,  especially  for 
the  present  purpose. 

Tie-plates  might  be  added;  but  as  the  movement  of  the 
rail  on  the  tie  is  so  limited  by  the  paving,  their  value  is  much 
reduced  below  that  for  open  track.  Tie-rods  might  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  brace  tie-plates,  but  the  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  latter  seem  so  conclusive  to  the  writers  that  no  hesitation 
is  felt  in  recommending  them. 

The  varieties  of  paving  which  may  be  required  by  the  city 
authorities  are  almost  infinite. 

For  asphalt  paving  with  concrete  base  the  use  of  steel  ties 
would  be  recommended.  The  use  of  wood  in  such  a  position 
as  for  railway  ties  in  a  buried  track  is  only  to  be  defended  on 
the  score  of  economy,  and  the  cost  of  wooden  and  steel  ties 
are  fast  approaching  each  other  in  many  localities. 

The  desire  to  avoid  the  use  of  wood  as  far  as  possible  led 
to  the  use  of  the  concrete  filling  for  the  recesses  of  the  rail. 
For  this  might  be  substituted  specially  moulded  brick,  or 
second  quality  or  second-hand  brick  with  nearly  as  good  results. 

126 


SPECIFICATIONS.  127 


SPECIFICATIONS   FOR   STREET-RAILWAY   TRACK. 

Construction. —  Nine-inch  girder  rail  on  wooden  ties,  broken- 
stone  ballast,  and  granite-block  pavement. 

1.  WORK  TO  BE  DONE. — The  work  to  be  done  consists  of  the 

construction  of  a  single-track  railway  track  on , , 

and streets,  between    Street  and     

Street  in  the  City  of ,  State  of 

2.  TOOLS  AND  LABOR. — The  contractor  is  to  furnish  all 
necessary  tools,   apparatus,  and  other  means  of  construction, 
and  do  all  the  work  required  for  the  above  construction. 

3.  MATERIAL. — The  company  will  furnish  and  deliver  to  the 

contractor,  at  its  yard  located  on   , Street,  all  material 

required  for  the  above  construction  except  such  as  are  not  to 
be  part  of  the  finished  construction,  which  will  be  furnished 
by  the  contractor. 

4.  The  street  must  not  be  torn  up  for  a  greater  distance 
than  500  feet  in  advance  of  the  finished  paving.     The  con- 
tractor must  so  arrange  his  work  and  deliver  the  material 
upon  the  street  as  to  obstruct  public  travel  as  little  as  possible, 
and  a  roadway  must  be  kept  free  on  at  least  one  side  of  the 
street  for  public  travel. 

The  contractor  shall  use  all  necessary  precautions  to  pre- 
vent accidents  by  maintaining  suitable  barriers  and  by  keep- 
ing lights  burning  at  night. 

5.  GRADING  AND  EXCAVATION. — The  roadbed  is  to  be  ex- 
cavated to  sub-grade,  which  will  be  twenty-four  inches  below 
the  finished  grade  of  the  street.     This  excavation  is  to  extend 
feet  each  side  of  the  center  line  of  track.     If  any  fur- 
ther width  of  excavation  is  required,  it  will  be  directed  by  the 
engineer  in  writing,  and  paid  for  under  clause  c,  paragraph  17. 
All  material  removed  from  the  excavation  is  the  property  of 
the  company,  and  must  be  promptly  removed  by  the  contrac- 
tor and  deposited  in  such  places  and  in  such  manner  as  may 
be  designated  by  the  engineer.     It  shall  not,   however,   be 
hauled  a  distance  greater  than  ....  feet,  except  as  provided  for 
under  clause/,  paragraph  17. 


128  STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 

No  plowing  will  be  allowed  which  disturbs  the  material  be- 
low six  inches  above  sub-grade. 

6.  SUB-DRAINS. —  If  considered  necessary  by  the  engineer,  a 
trench  will  be  dug  in  the  center  of  the  roadway  to  such  depth 
and  grade  as  he  shall  prescribe.     After  thoroughly  compacting 

the  bottom  of  the  trench,  a inch  porous  tile-drain  shall  be 

laid  and  such  connection  made  with  the  sewers  or  other  drains 
as  the  engineer  may  direct.     The  trench  is  then  to  be  refilled 
with  clean  gravel  filling,  in  layers  not  exceeding  twelve  inches 
in  thickness.     Each  layer  is  to  be  thoroughly  compacted  by 
ramming  before  another  layer  is  added. 

7.  PREPARING  SUB-GRADE. — The  sub-grade  shall  then  be 
thoroughly  rolled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  engineer  with  a 

roller  weighing  not  less  than pounds  per  inch  of  roller. 

If  any  portions  of  the  sub-grade  cannot  be  reached  by  the 
roller,    such   portions   shall   be   sprinkled   with    water    and 
thoroughly  compacted  by  ramming.     If  any  spongy  or  vege- 
table matter,  or  material  which  cannot  be  rolled,  is  found  in 
the  excavation,  it  must  be  removed  and  the  space  below  sub- 
grade  filled  with  clean  gravel  filling.     The  roadbed  shall  be 
in  a  moist  condition  when  rolled,  and  if  dry  must  be  mois- 
tened by  the  contractor. 

8.  BALLAST. — Upon  the  sub-grade,  prepared  as  above  de- 
scribed, there  shall  be  spread  a  layer  five  inches  thick  of 
broken-stone  ballast,  composed  of  stones  not  larger  than  two 
and  one-half  inches  in  their  largest  dimension.     This  layer 
shall  be  thoroughly  compacted  by  rolling  with  the  roller  here- 
tofore described,  or  by  ramming  in  such  places  as  cannot  be 
reached  with  the  roller. 

9.  DISTRIBUTION   OF   TIES. — Upon    this  layer  of  ballast 
the  ties  shall  be  distributed  and  spaced  at  intervals  of    ... 

inches  on  centers.     The  joint  ties  will  be  spaced inches 

on  centers  and  arranged  as  shown  on  plan  furnished  by  the 
engineer. 

11.  LAYING  TRACK.— The  rails  shall  then  be  placed  on  the 
ties  and  the  splice-plates  bolted  on.  Care  must  be  taken  not 
to  handle  the  rails  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bend  them  or  mar 
the  heads  or  flanges.  The  rails  will  be  spiked  with  four  spikes 


SPECIFICATIONS.  129 

tojthe_tie.  Spikes  will  be  staggered  at  least  two  and  one-half 
inches  in  the  tie,  and  driven  in  such  a  manner  as  to  hold  the 
tie  at  right  angles  to  the  track,  except  when  otherwise  directed. 
Brace  tie-plates  will  be  used  and  spiked  to  the  tie  with  three 
spikes  at  intervals  of  ....  feet.  The  rails  will  be  laid  with 
staggered  joints,  and  no  joint  shall  be  more  than  twelve  inches 
from  a  line  drawn  at  right  angles  to  the  center  of  the  opposite 
rail.  Care  must  be  taken  to  place  the  splice-plates  squarely 
in  position,  and  any  scale  or  rust  must  be  removed  from  the 
bearing-surfaces  of  plates  and  rail.  The  heads  of  the  bolts 
must  be  struck  with  a  two-pound  hammer  while  pressure  is 
applied  on  a  thirty-inch  wrench  to  tighten  the  bolts.  The 
rail  ends  must  be  placed  in  as  close  contact  as  possible.  The 
rails  must  not  be  bolted  up  for  more  than  five  rail  lengths  in 
advance  of  the  finished  paving.  The  gauge  of  the  track 
shall  not  vary  more  than  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  from  the 
standard  on  this  road,  which  is  ....  feet  ....  inches. 

12.  SPECIAL  WORK. — In  laying  frogs,  switches,  and  other 
special  work,  special  care  will  be  taken  to  maintain  line,  sur- 
face, and  gauge.     The  latter  will  be  widened  on  curves  if  so 
directed  by  the  engineer,  but  not  otherwise.     The  straight- 
track  gauge  at  switches  and  mates  will  preferably  be  ^"  tight. 
If  the  special  work  does  not  appear  to  fit,  no  attempt  what- 
ever must  be  made  to  force  it  except  by  direction  of  the  en- 
gineer. 

13.  KAISING  TRACK  AND  TAMPING.— After  the  preparation 
of  the  track  as  previously  described,  the  entire  track  must 
then  be  raised  to  the  finished  grade  and  aligned  to  the  lines 
given  by  the  engineer.     The  space  under  the  ties  must  then 
be  filled  with  broken-stone  ballast,  composed  of  stones  not 
larger  than  one  and  one-half  inches  in  their  largest  dimen- 
sions.    This  shall  be  tamped  under  the  ties  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  secure  an  even,  solid    bearing  throughout   the  entire 
length  and  width  of  the  tie. 

Care  must  be  taken  in  raising  and  tamping  the  track  not 
to  deform  the  rails  or  splice-bars.  The  space  between  the  ties 
is  to  be  filled  with  the  same  ballast  and  thoroughly  rammed. 


130  STREET-RAILWAY    ROADBED. 

14.  BONDING.— The    rails    are    to    be    bonded    with    the 
bond,  applied  in  the  following  manner: 


15.  JOINTS. — The  joints  are  to  be  gone  over  again  and  each 
bolt  tightened  up,  striking  the  head  of  each  bolt  with  a  two- 
pound  hammer,  while  steady  pressure  is  applied  to  the  end  of 
a  thirty-inch  wrench  until  they  cannot  be  further  tightened. 

16.  PREPARATION   OF    RAIL   FOR   PAVING.— The  recesses 
under  the  head  and  tram  of  the  rail  will  be  filled  with  con- 
crete in  such  a  manner  as  to  present  a  vertical  surface  for  the 
paving  to  rest  against.     This  concrete  shall  be  composed  of 

one  part  Rosendale  cement,  ....  parts  sand,  and parts  of 

broken  stone,  no  piece  of  which  shall  be  larger  than  1"  in  its 
greatest  dimension. 

16.  PAVING.— Over  the  entire  portion  of  the  street  to  be 
repaved  will   be   spread  a  layer  of  clean  sharp  gravel,  not 
larger  than  }"  in  its  largest  dimension,  and  thoroughly  com- 
pacted until  its  upper  surface  is  eight  inches  below  the  finished 
grade.     Especial  care  must  be  taken  to  thoroughly  compact 
that  portion  between  the  ties.     A  layer  of  bedding  sand  will 
then  be  spread  over  the  gravel  of  sufficient  thickness  to  bring 
the  granite  blocks  that  are  to  be  embedded  in  it  to  the  proper 
grade  after  they  are  thoroughly  rammed.     The  blocks  are  to 
be  covered  with  clean,  fine,  and  dry  gravel  or  coarse  sand, 
which  shall  be  raked  and  swept  until  all  the  joints  become 
filled  therewith.     The  blocks  shall  then  be  rammed  to  a  firm, 
unyielding  surface  to  agree  with  the  section  of  track  as  fur- 
nished by  the  engineer.     No  ramming  will   be  done  within 
fifteen  feet  of  the  face  of  the  paving  that  is  being  laid.     The 
blocks  will  again  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  clean,  fine,  or  dry 
gravel  or  coarse  sand,  and  raked  and  swept  until  the  joints  are 
filled  therewith.    The  blocks  shall  then  be  rammed  until  made 
solid  and  secure.     Finally,  the  paving  shall  be  covered  with  a 
layer  at  least  1"  in  thickness  of  fine  dry  screened  gravel. 

17.  MEASUREMENTS. — The  work  will  be  measured  and  paid 
for  under  the  following  prices: 

(a)  Per  foot  of  single  track,  including  all  excavation,  re- 
filling, preparation  of  the  sub-grade,  ballasting,  paving,  and 
track-laying; 


SPECIFICATIONS.  131 

r .  (b)  Special  work  shall  be  measured  on  the  center  line  of 
track,  measuring  the  center  line  from  the  separation  of  theo- 
retical center  lines  to  the  similar  separation  or  to  a  point 
opposite  the  farthest  joint  of  special  work.  Price  per  foot, 
determined  in  this  manner,  including  items  mentioned  in 
clause  (a) 

(c)  Price  per  square  yard  for  excavation,  refilling,  ballasting, 

and  paving  outside  the  limit  of feet  from  the  center 

line  of  track,  when  required  by  the  engineer; 

(d)  Price  per  cubic  yard  of  excavating  and  refilling  meas- 
ured in  excavation  for  tile-drains 

(e)  Price  per  running  foot  for  laying  tile-drains  and  con- 
necting to  sewer  or  drains 

(/)  Price  per  ton  per  1000  feet  for  hauling  material  from 

the  excavation  a  greater  distance  than feet  from 

the  excavation. 

18.  ESTIMATES. — It  shall  be  understood  and  agreed  by  the 
parties  hereto  that  due  measurements  shall  be  taken  during 
the  progress  of  the  work,  and  the  estimate  of  the  engineer 
shall  be  final  and  conclusive  evidence  of  the  amount  of  work 
performed  by  the  contractor  under  and  by  virtue  of  this 
agreement,  and  shall  be  taken  as  the  full  measure  of  com- 
pensation to  be  received  by  the  contractor.  The  aforesaid 
estimates  shall  be  based  upon  the  contract  prices  for  the  per- 
formance of  all  the  work  mentioned  in  these  specifications 
and  agreement,  and  when  there  may  be%any  ambiguity  therein, 
the  engineer's  instructions  shall  be  considered  explanatory, 
and  shall  be  of  binding  force. 


132 


STREET-RAILWAY   ROADBED. 


TABLE  III. 
MIDDLE  OKDINATES,  10'  CHORDS. 


M.  0. 

Radio*. 

M.  0. 

Radius. 

M.  O. 

Radius. 

0" 

Infinity 

2" 

75'    1 

4" 

37'    8" 

1 

4807'    8" 
2399     3 
1600     6 

1 

73  lift 
72     9f 
71     8J 

a" 

4332 

37     4* 
37     li 
36     9J 

i 

1200     9 

70     8 

t  . 

4 

36     6/8 

6 

960     1 

~'51 

69     7 

36     3  ft 

3 

800     3ft 

2-3 

68     7 

1 

4?3s 

35   11T* 

/» 

682     3A 

2372 

67     8f" 

4372 

35     8* 

I 

600     Oi 

2i 

66     9 

t 

*i 

35     5iJ 

» 

533     4? 

239Z 

65   10ft 

35     2j% 

X 

480     Oft 

2iSB 

64   11 

U9B 

4_s 

34   11,  % 

11 

436     4T9a 

311 

64     1 

5 

432 

34     8i| 

1 

400     Oft 

2f 

63     3 

S 

34     5f 

y 

369     3 

231 

62     5 

1 

433 

34     2|| 

!' 

342   10ft 

2l?B 

61     7 

I 

4  is 

33   111 

j 

320     OT 

2^S 

60   10 

r8s 

4i5 

33      9^ 

300     Oi 

24 

60     1 

- 

41 

33     6i 

j 

; 

282     4ft 
266     8ft 
253     0{§ 

219 

59     4f 
58     7J 

57  iii 

1 

33     3i 
33     O^S 
32   10i 

240     0/B 

|}i 

57     3 

« 

32     7* 

228     7X 

56     7 

32     4f- 

218      H| 

28 

55   Hi 

4  2 

32     2f 

209      U* 

2§i 

55     3- 

t7B 

31    11  JJ 

i 

200     2ft 
192     Of 

54     7 
54     0 

4f2 

31      9T68 
31      6£ 

i 

184      7f 

177     9}B 

It 

53     5 
52   lOj 

s 

Jjf 

31      4f 
8  1      2ft 

171     54 

s 

52     3, 

4j? 

30    llf 

! 

165     6| 
160     Oi 
154    10* 

| 

51     8^ 
51     2j 
50     7 

i 

i 

II 

30     9TB 
30     7 
30     4f 

i 

150     Oi 

3  2 

50     1, 

5  8 

30     2i 

11 

145     6 
141      2}J 
137     2| 

8$ 

$ 

49     7ft 
49     if 

48     7f 

s 

30     Oi 
29   10TV 
29     71* 

ii 

Is85 

133     4J 
129     9T5B 

i 

48     1ft 
47     7£ 

5iB2 

29     5T| 
29     3U 

126     4* 

33 

47     2, 

% 

5ft 

29     1ft 

1 

123     2| 

3372 

46     8 

I 

5372 

28   114 

j^ 

120     Of 

3i 

46     3*" 

5i9 

28     94 

1ft 

117      li 
114     4| 

3?s 

45   10ft 
45     5ft 

28     74 

28     54 

j  1? 

111     8ft 

33a 

45     0 

5^J 

28     34 

If 

109      1J 

U 

44     7 

5| 

28     1,B 

iu 

ia 

104     4y* 
102     2i 

il 

44     2| 
43     9j 
43     4 

1 

ft 

1 

27   llf 
27     9f 
27     7| 

11 

100     0} 

9 

43     Oa 

5* 

27     6 

j 

I 

98     Oi 
96     0* 
94     2ft 

42     7." 
42     3ft 
41    10H 

53| 

27     4fB 
27     2f 
27     0T| 

i 

•93     4* 

3  2 

41     61 

5f 

26    I(4j 

i 
i 
i 

! 

90     7IB 

88   114 
87     4i 

3  | 

41      2i 
40   10 

40     5£ 

| 

26     9ft 
26     7T^ 

26        ^^g 

i 

85     9/a 

3 

40     i; 

54- 

26     3}| 

i 

84     3TB 

3  § 

39     9}| 

5§i 

26     2j 

i 

82    10 
81      5i 

39     6, 
39     2, 

1 

5p 

26     (»,% 
25   10}* 

8)     0-ls 

jl 

83   10t 

7n 

M 

25     9rs5 

i 

i 

78     »i 

;^|| 

38     6f 

25     7U 

i 
i 

77     6 
76     3i 

3iJ 

38     3* 
37  Hi 

5s! 

25     4ft 

INDEX. 


PAGE 

American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  Remarks  before 26 

Standard  rail,  Section  of 34 

Baltimore,  T-rail  construction  in 40 

Boston,  Standard  rail  in 31 

Brace,  malleable  iron , 57 

Brooklyn,  Standard  rail  in 32 

Buenos  Ayres,  Livesey  rail  in 2 

Chairs :    First  cast  iron 2 

Types  of 10,  53 

Chords,  Table  of 132 

Clearance,  Car 64 

Curves: 60 

Advantage  of  spiral 84 

Car  clearance  on 64 

Car-house 116 

Compounding 61 

Designing 87,  112 

Easement 62 

Gage  on 73 

Nomenclature  of 77 

Problems  in  laying  out 89 

Table  of 132 

Tables  and  formulae  for  use  of  spiral 84,  97 

Turnouts 77 

Frogs 78 

Gage  on  curves 73 

Grades,  Effect  of... 30 

Grading 124 

Guard-rails 66,  68,  72,  74 

Joints  : 43 

Churchill 51 

Continuous 51 

133 


134  INDEX. 


PAGE 

Joints  :  Girder 48 

Ribbed 46 

Weber 50 

Welded 53 

Wheeler 49,  50 

Line- work 124 

Maps,  Making 125 

Mate 78 

Motive  power 20 

New  Orleans,  Rails  in 20 

New  York  City  :  Broadway  rail  in 13,  30 

Construction  of  the  Broadway  cable  road 27 

Cable  track  in  asphalt  in 28 

Third  Avenue  cable  road 27 

Flat  rail  in 1 

Old  horse-car  rail  in 26 

Rails  laid  in  asphalt  in 28 

Standard  rail  in 32 

Nomenclature  :  Curves 77 

Parts  of  rails 4 

Nut-locks 48 

Patent  for  rails,  Early 7 

Pavement 22 

Pennsylvania  R.  R.,  Specifications  for  laying  road-bed 37 

Philadelphia,  Flat  rail  in 3 

Rails:    Boston,  in 31 

Box  girder 11 

Broadway 13,  30 

Brooklyn,  in 32 

Center-bearing  rail 20 

Combination  rail 18 

Electric  rail 17 

Flat  rail  in  New  York  City 1 

Gibbon  duplex 11 

Girder  rail :  Deep  sections 31 

Development  of 13 

First  actually  rolled 6 

Later  sections 13 

Grooved 8,17 

Guard-rail 66,  68,  72,  74 

Horse-car  rails  in  New  York.: 26 

Johnson,  Early 8,30 

Laid  in  asphalt  in  New  York 28 

Life  of. .  24 


INDEX.  135 

PAGE 

Rails  :  Livesey  .................................................      2 

New  Orleans,  in  ........................................     20 

New  York,  in  ...........................................     32 

Nomenclature  of  parts  of  ...............................      4 

Patent  for,  Early  ........................................       7 

Side-bearing  rail  with  electrically  welded  feet  .............     18 

T  rail  :  Adapted  to  street  railways  ................   ......     34 

Advantage  of  ..................................     36 

Construction  in  Baltimore  ........  ...................     40 

Early  type  of  ....................................      3 

High  ...........................................     42 

Standard  sections  ..............................     34 

Vignole  ...............................................      3 

Washington  .........................................  16,29 

Wear  of  ................................................     21 

Wharton  sections,  Early  ................................       9 

What  governs  the  shape  of  ...............................     19 

San  Francisco,  Cal.  ,  Early  girder  rail  in  ..........................       6 

Special  Work  :  .......  .......................................  60,  72 

Adamantine  .......................................     79 

Built-up  .........  .  ................................  79,  82 

Design  of  ....................................  Ill 

Frogs,  Standardization  of  ..........................  Ill 

Guarantee  ......................................  79,  81 

Manganese  .....................................  79,  81 

Specifications  ................................................  37,  126 

Surveys  ......................................................  122 

Switches  .......................................................     77 

Tables  for  spirals  .............................................     97 

Temperature,  Effect  of  changes  in  ..............................     43 

Tie-bars  ____  ...................................................     57 

Tie-plates  ......................................................     57 

Ties,  Metallic  ................................................  42,  58 

Trolley-wire,  Locating  ..........................................  114 

Turnouts  .    .......  ...........................................     77 

Street  traffic  .................................................  21,  30 

Track  construction  :  Cable  track  in  asphalt  ......................     28 

New  York,  in  ..............................     27 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Standard  rail  in  ..........................  16,  29 

Wear  .........................................................     23 

Welded  joints  ...................  ,  .........  ....................     52 

Wheel  flanges  ................................................  67,  71 

Wire,  Locating  the  trolley  .....................................  114 


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